A/N: Hey, guys! In the last chapter, Celes and her friends reunited with Terra in the village of Mobliz, where all the adults were killed by Kefka's Light of Judgment, and the oldest survivors were two teenagers in love, Duane and Katarin. For a year, she had become like a mother to the orphans, caring for them and protecting them from Humbaba, a monster that attacked the village during that time, but after receiving visits from her friends, Terra went to fight against the monster, being seriously injured. The next day, Humbaba attacked again, and to allow the survivors to escape safely, Sabin was almost killed and the others were wiped out, which sparked such anger in Terra that she went in Trance, fought Humbaba and killed him. With Katarin pregnant with her and Duane's son, she decides to set out with Celes and the others to defeat Kefka in hopes of making the world better for the next generation. Now they head to the Veldt to look for Gau. Will they find it? Let's find out! I apologize for not posting a new chapter for two months, but besides the fact that this is a great project, I'm also busy with other things, including my Youtube channel, which I opened in April. If you come from Youtube, my channel has a link to my profile, from which you can access my stories. That said, let's get started!

Chapter 32: Gau and the monsters of the Veldt

(Objective: Go to the Veldt plain to look for Gau.)

Characters:

Terra

Celes

Edgar

Sabin

Cyan

Setzer

The flight to the Veldt did not last long, given its proximity to Mobliz, but there was a strange feeling among the survivors of the Returners. ''What would Gau do there?'' asked Terra.

''Cyan said that he met Gau shortly after coming to regaining consciusness after the Cataclysm happened. He says that Gau went back there to train.'' replied Celes.

''And as far as we know, Gau has lived there all his life, so he knows monsters better than anyone. Sabin said he and Cyan first met him there.'' added Edgar.

Cyan overheard the conversation, but he was not focused on it. He was sitting looking at the engine, lost in thought. What if he sees someone else pulling the leather in front of him? What if it fails again?

''Gau will certainly be somewhere in this vast plain. It's going to be just like last year, isn't it, Cyan?" asked Sabin. But Cyan didn't answer. ''Cyan? Hey, Cyan!''

Cyan jumped, caught off guard. ''What? Oh, yes.'' he said, surprised. ''What were you saying?''

''Cyan, you're being distracted again. What's getting into you?'' asked Celes.

''I was lost in my thoughts. I have failed too many times, including last year when Kefka caused the Cataclysm, and it will certainly not be my last failure. Maybe we'll lose our last stand, too.'' said Cyan.

''Seriously, I have the feeling that I always have to keep an eye on you, I noticed that last year. You barely talk to it, you exclude yourself from conversations, you close in on yourself, and I always have the feeling that you're going to do a terrible thing to yourself. I already informed Edgar about it yesterday, before we arrived in Mobliz.'' Sabin said in a serious tone.

''I thank thee for thy concern, but I don't need help.'' replied Cyan.

''Yes, you do. You should open up more to others.'' said Terra.

But Cyan was not very convinced. ''Sometimes, it's better to be alone.'' he said.

''For what?'' asked Setzer.

''So as not to dishonor myself in front of others with yet another failure.'' said Cyan.

''There he goes again.'' Celes commented. ''Forget it, convincing him will take the whole day.''

''We have arrived. We will start looking for Gau immediately.'' said Setzer.

(Objective: Search for Gau in the Veldt.)

(''Savannah Citadel Night- Sonic Unleashed OST'')

The sextet began to explore the immense plain. Despite the enormous size of the Veldt, however, there was a feeling that it was lifeless, which gave everyone a feeling of unease.

''There's something strange here. Normally the Veldt is inhabited by monsters, especially during migrations, but it seems that there is no one. I guess Kefka did something to the monsters that live here too.'' commented Sabin.

''I don't like fighting, but I'll do it if it's the right thing to do.'' said Terra.

''This plain is really vast. It could be a good place for racing in the future.'' said Setzer.

''So, is this where you and Cyan met Gau?'' asked Edgar.

''Yes. It happened shortly after Terra joined the Returners, and Edgar, Banon and I were here back then. We were crossing the River Lethe back to Narshe when Ultros attacked us. When he feigned defeat and attacked Terra, I ended up at the mercy of the current. After waking up on another continent because the current of the river had dragged me to the east instead of the west, I passed through the kingdom of Doma, where Kefka showed up. I tried to stop him, but I could not prevent him from poisoning the river near Doma, poisoning it and causing a massacre, also killing Cyan's family. Cyan and I fought against the imperial soldiers, and he made such a massacre in the camp that none of you would want to see, as a result of his rampage, several imperial soldiers were quartered, beheaded, with severed body parts and there was blood everywhere I almost vomited.'' said Sabin.

''I wouldn't want to see something like that. It brings back bad memories.'' said Celes.

Ten minutes passed, and it was clear that something was wrong. The Veldt was half-empty apart from the dead trees here and there, and the few animals and monsters present were in a feral state indicated by a blood-red light in their eyes.

''Is this normal?'' asked Setzer.

''No, it's not normal. Animals like hares should not be that aggressive. I noticed it during my travels.'' Sabin replied.

''I noticed it too, the day after I woke up. I was on my way to Tzen when a hare attacked me in a feral state, and a stray cat devoured it in a way that didn't seem typical of an ordinary wildcat. Animals and vegetation have severely mutated ever since the Cataclysm, either dying or becoming more feral and aggressive.'' explained Celes.

"If it's true that Gau lives here with monsters, I don't know what happened. He knows how to look after himself, but I'm starting to worry.'' said Terra, a little worried.

A green cactus-like creature without thorns ran towards the group in a hurry, seemingly agitated. When he saw them, he stopped to look at them with curiosity and then ran away again.

''What is this thing?'' asked Cyan.

''It's a Cactuar. It's usually not aggressive, but it's very fast and has a tendency to pull pranks.'' Edgar replied.

''It looked pretty scared. Whatever happened, it must be serious.'' said Celes.

(''Savannah Citadel (Night)- Sonic Unleashed OST-s'')

(''Battle- Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster OST'')

Suddenly, the ground began to move with a loud noise followed by a high-pitched sound, and three giant antlions came out of the ground.

''Wait a second! Antlions live in deserts and caves, not in plains!'' exclaimed Sabin.

''We have seen that with the destruction of the world, several areas are becoming desertified. The natural habitat of antlions and other animals must have altered accordingly.'' said Edgar. As soon as he finished speaking, more monsters arrived, such as a Zuu and a lesser tiger.

''We have to fight. Come on!'' said Celes.

(Objective: Survive the monster attack!)

With his superhuman strength, Sabin could easily immobilize the monsters that attacked him, breaking the jaws of antlion and the saber teeth of a lesser tiger with his baree hands, but fighting them was not easy. Each time one monster was defeated, two more would immediately appear. Edgar attacked from a distance if possible with his firearms, but not even Hiryu's fiery breath and physical attacks could change the situation much. Terra and Celes used their magical attacks to immobilize or freeze the monsters, but they immediately broke free.

''They look much stronger than before.'' said Terra, who had paralyzed the monsters with a black magic spell.

Preparing to use a bushido, Cyan raised her katana, which shone in a white light. ''Eclipse!'' When he lowered the katana, the enemies were hit by white chi blades, but it was not enough. Instead, even more monsters appeared, including a chimera.

''Oh, this's ridiculous! How many of them are there?!' exclaimed Sabin, irritated.

Setzer suddenly began to scratch himself. ''I think one of those killer bees stung me. I have an awful itch in my back.'' he said.

Suddenly, there was a loud sound of paws and hooves hitting the ground.

''This doesn't look good at all...'' murmured Terra.

Sabin leaned over to see better and saw a huge number of large animals running towards our heroes, and even those already present seemed ready to charge. ''It's a stampede!'' he yelled.

''We can't fight them with these numbers! We gotta run!'' declared Edgar, and everyone climbed on Hiryu's back so as to prevent the monsters from physically hitting them.

Although Hiryu was high and the beasts could not reach her, they knew magic, which forced her to make sharp turns a few times.

''Maybe it's too late to say it, but can I say Kefka is as nice as a kick in the butt?'' asked Setzer.

''I'd say it's like a pole in the ass!'' commented Cyan.

Their ranged attacks failed to stop the monsters at all, but only ended up infuriating them to the point that they ran faster. A lesser tiger bit Terrain the arm, and to get it off of her, she had to use her other hand to release a magical discharge in its face.

''What the hell! We can't run away like this forever! There's no end of them!'' blurted Sabin, and after a minute of escape, Hiryu fell to the ground after being hit by a sudden Thundara that also unseated the heroes. Now they were surrounded by dozens of monsters.

''What do we do now?'' asked Setzer.

"There is no room to fight, we are surrounded. Let's use magic, we need area attacks.'' Terra replied.

''Too risky. It takes time to cast the spells, and we'll be dead before we even complete them.'' said Celes.

Sabin equipped the Gigantaxe and took a step forward. Even though he knew he would have done something crazy, he thought he would get a tactic on the spot and felt he had to do something, at least to separate the wave of monsters and buy time for others. Edgar looked at him with concern, but he couldn't even warn him, as a lightning bolt struck a tiger.

(''Battle- Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster OST-s'')

''Wait, what? Who was it?!'' exclaimed Cyan.

Celes glimpsed a figure running on all fours towards the monsters, surrounded by electricity. ''Look!''

''Is that what I think?'' commented Sabin, while those who had interfered hit the monsters with the electric charge.

Before the monsters could even react, they were hit by sharp claws and blades of wind. The newcomer then attacked with his sharp claws, an electric dash and a... tail swipe? He then followed with a Thundaga, releasing electricity from his body.(1) The monsters immediately retreated, and a howl was heard in the air.

Celes and her friends looked forward, seeing who had saved them. A teenage boy was standing in front of them. Sabin recognized him. ''Hey, Gau! It's us!'' he called him.

Gau turned, and let out a howl of joy. He ran to his friends and jumped into Cyan's arms, causing him to fall to the ground from the impact before licking his face affectionately.

''Oof! Hey, Sir Gau. Glad to see that you're in one piece.'' moaned Cyan. Although the hug made him breathless, he patted Gau's head, glad that he was okay.

''Nice for us to see you again, Gau, I see you haven't changed at all.'' Sabin said, patting Gau on the back.

Celes felt a little uncomfortable when Gau hugged her. She didn't mind, but she felt her head close to her breasts, not enough to touch them, but enough to make her feel strange. ''Gau, what the.. I know, I'm happy to see you again, but please try to take it easy, I feel uncomfortable.'' he said, and the young man pulled away.

''Friends!'' cried Gau, happy. Hearing his voice, there was a brief silence.

''Is this his voice?'' asked Setzer, not remembering that this was Gau's voice. He wasn't the only one noticing, everyone noticed that his voice was a little different than it was a year earlier. It seemed as if it had dropped a few semitones.

Sabin approached to see better and noticed that his body had changed. Although he was still slim in build, he was slightly taller, reaching Terra's shoulder, his abs and pectorals were slightly more visible, his arms and legs were slightly wider with extra muscle mass and there was a protrusion on his throat. ''Hey, you've grown up! Cyan told us how you went here to train, and I see that your training has paid off.'' he said, amazed.

''Yes! Kefka bad! I want to get stronger! We must win!'' replied Gau.

''After everything Kefka has done, he can't get away with it.'' Celes said.

(The wild boy Gau joined the party!)

Suddenly, Gau began to smell the ground and make howls, as if he was agitated.

''What's up, Gau?'' asked Terra.

Gau leaned his head out and put his hand over his ear, as if trying to hear a distant voice, then began to run. ''It must be serious, I think he wants to take us somewhere.'' said Edgar.

''Let's follow him!'' said Cyan.

Everyone began to follow Gau to the Veldt. Every now and then, the wild boy would stop to check where to go and then start running again. After at least a minute, he stopped for good, pointing to some figures in the distance.

''Did something happen?'' asked Edgar.

Gau nodded and led his friends to see. Many large animals and beasts of various kinds were on the ground, and they all looked in pain. What surprised everyone was that Gau was communicating with them. Sabin was not so surprised, as the Veldt plain was where he had first met him, and he also knew that Gau did not seem to have a family. He continued to have suspicions about the old man he had met before witnessing the massacre of Doma, but although he had the feeling that he was the father, he did not have the evidence to prove it, and at the time it was not a priority.

''Look at the monsters! They are all injured!'' exclaimed Celes, pointing to all the animals. They were losing blood or had bruises and cuts or a combination of everything, they were making sounds of pain and they couldn't stand. Gau looked at them very worried about them, especially a pack of wolves and a saber-toothed tiger.

''Who would have done all this? Kefka?'' asked Cyan.

''The Fallen Ones...'' murmured Gau.

Terra was confused. ''The Fallen Ones?''

Edgar picked up a book and began leafing through it until he discovered why. ''There it is. The Fallen Ones are those who have succumbed in this world. Recognizable by their blood-red eyes, they can be animals, beasts or humans corrupted by Kefka's evil influence when he caused the Cataclysm. Among the Fallen Ones, humans are almost unrecognizable compared to the past, in a state of constant madness, attacking and attempting to kill anything that comes close, while other life forms that have not adapted or are not dying are severely mutated and/or with a murderous instinct beyond their capacity for judgment, and are also known as the Feral Ones.'' he read.

''Like those monsters from before? You mean they were Feral Ones?'' asked Sabin.

''Exactly.'' replied Edgar.

''The more I find out the consequences for what Kefka did, the more I want to swear.'' said Celes. ''I think we're probably going to abuse swearing.''

''How can we heal these creatures?'' asked Terra, looking with concern at a large cat with a broken paw and cuts on its back.

"Locke knows more than we do about this. He often has medipacks with him, but we don't have any.'' said Edgar.

''There is still one way to heal these wounds: medicinal herbs.'' Sabin declared.

''Since when do you have knowledge about medicinal herbs?'' asked Setzer.

''Hey, I've lived much more outdoors than in a castle being a prince.'' Sabin replied. ''Anyway, Master Duncan taught me and the other students about survival instinct. Some plants and herbs can be used to make a medicine, and we also learned how to make a mixture of medicinal herbs and water."

''I know medicinal herbs well too. They are often used to treat wounds.'' added Cyan.

Gau seemed very interested, and thought it was a good idea. He began to look around, but found no medicinal herbs, while Hiryu looked around nervously.

''But there is a problem, desertification. Ever since the Cataclysm happened, several areas of the world have desertified, such as around the city of Maranda, or dried up, and plants are having more and more difficulty growing. Medicinal herbs are among the plants that have suffered the most, have become rare and difficult to find. Let's go find some, they should be somewhere around here.'' said Sabin.

(''Objective: The monsters of the Veldt are injured. Find some medicinal herbs and use them to make a mixture for them.)

Characters:

Terra

Celes

Edgar

Sabin

Cyan

Gau

Setzer

Although the Veldt was very vast, finding medicinal herbs had become difficult. There were few trees, even before the Cataclysm, but desertification had made finding them even harder.

''Finding medicinal herbs in this world is easier said than done.'' said Celes, after ten minutes in which no one had been able to find anything.

''Well, they're pretty delicate plants. They don't grow well in hostile conditions.'' Sabin noted.

''I'm not a plant expert.'' Setzer said.

When they finally found a seedling, Edgar analyzed it. ''I don't think it can be useful to us.'' he said.

Sabin found another seedling and looked at it. ''This is a medicinal herb. We can use it to make the blend.'' he said, picking it up from the ground.

Gau also found a small plant, and detached some leaves from it. ''That too!'' he exclaimed.

''Do you think that's enough?'' asked Setzer.

''With all these injured animals, we have to find more.'' replied Celes.

With his highly developed sense of smell, Gau was able to find other medicinal herbs.

''Nicely done, Gau. I would say that this is enough to make the mixture.'' said Sabin, taking the seedlings, a bottle of water and a bowl. He began to prepare the mixture, and Terra and Gau offered to help him.

After a few minutes, the herbal blend was ready, and Gau gave it to the monsters, who slowly found the strength to stand.

''So, what is all this?'' asked Celes. ''What the heck happened?''

The wild boy began to make gestures and growl in a manner similar to the Fairs, let out a laugh that sounded like Kefka's, and moved as if he were mixing something.

''Wait, what?! You mean that during the third military campaign of the Gestahlian Empire, Kefka made experiments on the Feral Ones?! And did the same experiments on some humans?!' exclaimed Sabin, horrified. Gau nodded frantically.

''I heard a few things about it before I met Terra, but I didn't think it would go that far. I was attacked by a group of Feral Ones and a Fallen One a few months ago, so I started researching them. The Feral Ones were used by Kefka as allies of Gestahl's soldiers in the third military campaign of the Gestahlian Empire, and some soldiers were also victims of some experiments. We have not dealt with them before, but I know that the transformation into Feral One changes life forms and drastically reduces ther life expectancy, which pushes them to fight to the death with extreme ferocity and with the only instinct to reduce everyone and everything to ashes, completely ignoring the stimuli of their body and their limitations. All this is caused by a drug experimented by Kefka, and the effects also occur on humans, greatly increasing their strength at the cost of destroying their minds, leaving them with only the instinct to destroy and kill.(2)

''Can I stick his head in a vase, so that vines will grow where the sun doesn't shine?'' asked Celes, seriously disgusted by this explanation.

If Cyan didn't hate Kefka enough before, his hatred intensified as it did every time he discovered one of his inhuman actions, and he let out a series of swear words. ''That son of a filthy whore! I'd cut off that asshole's head and stick it on a pole!'' he shouted.

''I would put his head in the toilet and flush it.'' said Edgar.

''Kefka disgusts me so much that I can't think of a punishment harsh enough for him.'' commented Terra, but when Gau mentioned feeding him to the Behemoths, she considered it. ''OK, that's good enough.''

''As much as I want to break that poop face of his, Kefka is a god, so can't we can't make him pay for it so easily.'' Sabin said.

Suddenly, a loud roar was heard, followed by what appeared to be large paws on the grass.

''What's that?'' asked Terra, taking the frying pan she had brought with her from Mobliz and holding it in a defensive position.

(''Zeta Metroid Boss Theme- Metroid Samus Returns OST'')

Another roar drove everyone to turn around, and they saw a large, slender, reptile-like bipedal creature with sharp teeth and claws and a long tail.

''A velociraptor!'' exclaimed Edgar, climbing on Hiryu's back.

''A dinosaur? Weren't they extinct?" asked Celes.

''I don't know, but let's get ready to fight!'' Edgar cut short.

(''Objective: Defeat the velociraptor!)

Characters:

Terra

Celes

Edgar

Sabin

Cyan

Gau

Setzer

If its name didn't make it clear enough, the velociraptor was rather agile and skilled at running and jumping, and since its skin was tough, Celes and Cyan had a hard time dealing much damage with their weapons, although Celes found out that magic was effective against it after hitting him with Bio. Edgar's spear was not powerful against a hard-skinned enemy, and although his firearms had better results, it was not easy to aim on a wyvern flying from side to side, so he always tried to wait for the right moment before firing. Gau did a little better, as he was equipped with combat claws, but he was physically outclassed by the velociraptor.

Celes cast Scan, gaining access to information about the velociraptor. ''The velociraptor is quite fast, its skin is difficult to scratch with physical attacks and has very powerful tail, fangs and claws. Let's try magic, It's weak to ice.'' he said.

The velociraptor was aggressive, and Terra noticed that it had red eyes like the Feral Ones. To counter its attacks, she tried to block them with the frying pan.

''A frying pan? How could it possibly be useful to you when the world is ending?'' asked Setzer.

''Wait and see.'' Terra replied, successfully blocking a bite and firing a Blizzaga into the velociraptor's neck. Since the pan was durable, the metal did not break after the blow.

Sabin's fists collided with the dinosaur's claws, and he was on par with the monster, until he was bitten in the shoulder. He began to lose blood from the wound, but this did not cause him to waver. After casting Cura on himself to heal it, he saw the velociraptor attack him again with a bite and responded with an uppercut to the jaw. The velociraptor jumped, but Sabin jumped too and grabbed it by the tail, slamming it to the ground and taking advantage of the moment to shoot fireballs into his mouth with Fira, and although a kick knocked him to the ground, he saw the velociraptor jump to bite his throatand quickly raised his legs, kicking it away, then jumped and used Meteorstrike, slamming it to the ground with a suplex.(3)

''Ehm, Terra, behind you.'' said Setzer, who was trying to freeze the velociraptor's feet by castingBlizzard.

Terra turned and saw a human Fallen One armed with an axe, but her reflexes were quick, and as a result, the Fallen One got hit in the head by the frying pan and was knocked unconscious. Terra began to laugh. ''Did you really think I was helpless without a sword or magic? Well, tell that to my frying pan pan.'' she declared, spinning the pan with her finger, blocking fireballs in the process, but accidentally hit her face with it and fell to the ground a little groggy. ''Oof! Oops...'' she murmured, clutching his cheek. Sabin chuckled in amusement.(4)

The velociraptor suddenly began to breathe fire. ''Hiryu, you too!'' ordered Edgar, and Hiryu spat flames out of his mouth, and the two fiery breaths collided in a draw. Since the dinosaur had its guard down, Cyan used the opportunity to hit it with a Bushido Flurry.

On the other hand, Sabin found himself in trouble, as the velociraptor was agile enough to keep up with him and bit him in the right arm. He tried to get himself free, but could not free himself from the grip, on the contrary, the velociraptor only bit harder with a crunch, as if a bone had broken, and his brother and friends began to worry. He then tried to use his left arm to grab the monster's upper jaw and raise it, but it immediately closed, causing him to cry out in pain.

''Sabin! Are you okay?!'' exclaimed Terra.

''I have to get myself free, somehow!'' Sabin replied, trying to break free from the velociraptor's grip.

Cyan panicked, and Terra and Celes, worried about their friend, prepared to cast a spell, but Edgar stopped them. ''No! Stay where you are! If you use magic right now, you could hit Sabin, and it will make his wounds worse!'' he shouted, jumping off Hiryu to hit the velociraptor with the Dragoon Knights' jumping attack, but that wasn't enough to force it to let go, nor Gau's scratches and bites.

Sabin had difficulty getting up, not so much because of his wounds, although his arm was bleeding heavily, but because the velociraptor, by biting him, was leveraging him him. He was at a disadvantage, and he had to get out of it quickly or the bleeding would get worse. He unsheathed the Gigantaxe with his left arm and hit the velociraptor's head with a downward swing, then an upward swing on the jaw, which caused it pain, but it was not enough, and after a tail blow had hit and disarmed Edgar, he took his spear and used it to hit it in the neck. Even this was not enough, and he was brutally slammed to the ground, landing painfully on his shoulder. The monster then pulled his head back, twisting his arm with another horrible crunch, and Sabin could not hold back a scream of pain: the velociraptor had twisted his arm so abruptly that it had almost broken, and his vision was slowly getting darker as he heard the worried shouts of his older brother.

Despite the disadvantage, Sabin had nerves of steel, as it was clear to him that he had not gone all the way to becoming the highlight of a dinosaur's evening menu. ''It's do or die!'' he thought. As a last resort, he turned on his side to get the Gaia Hammer and slammed it three times on the velociraptor's head, causing it to finally let go.

(''Zeta Metroid Boss Theme- Metroid Samus Returns OST-s'')

(''Late Initiative- Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem OST'')

When Sabin got up, he showed clear signs of fatigue, as he had lost a considerable amount of blood. His arm had a long slash where he was bitten, and it felt heavy, which left him too exhausted to cast a healing spell.

''Sabin, are you feeling OK?'' asked Celes.

''I think my arm broke. I need to heal, and I must concentrate.'' Sabin replied.

''Don't worry, little bro. We'll watch your back.'' said Edgar. He climbed back onto Hiryu and shot the velociraptor with a rifle while Cyan and Setzer tried to distract it to give Sabin the opportunity to focus and use a Blitz to healing himself. ''Hiryu, attack! Gau, come and help her!''

Hiryu began to physically attack with tail swipes, bites, and her sharp claws, and Gau offered her support with his claw swipes and bites, and even cast Aerora to hurl the monster away.

Celes hit the velociraptor in the foot with icy spikes and Terra cast a Firaga spell, creating a large fireball that it swallowed, and that exploded in its mouth.

With this diversion, Sabin was almost ready, and a green light surrounded him. ''Healing Aura!''

A warm green aura surrounded Sabin as he used the Blitz, and when the light dissolved, his wounds healed.

(''Late Initiative- Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem OST-s'')

Relieved that Sabin had recovered, Gau kept fighting, but he tripped on something, and when he saw what it was, he drew Celes' attention. It was a Magicite, and there was the image of a purple creature resembling a giant mouth on it.

''This is Atomos. Atomos is an Esper known for its ability to suck up everything that comes within range and its anti-gravity powers.'' said Celes.

''Let's summon it, so we can defeat that velociraptor.'' said Terra. Edgar looked around, and seeing that there was nothing else in the area, he thought it was a good idea.

(''Let's Hit the Climax!- Bayonetta OST'')

Sabin took the Magicite and beckoned Gau to do as he did. Gau returned the nod, and they began to summon the Esper. ''CASASAM PIADFH!''

Before long, Atomos appeared and opened its mouth to try to suck in the velociraptor, and in the process this unleashed a very strong wind that could be compared to a storm caused by the Storm Dragon. ''Hold on tight!'' cried Celes, struggling to withstand the strong wind.

After swallowing the velociraptor, Atomos spit it out and used his special attack, G-Force 199, hitting it with an antigravity ball similar to the Gravity spell. Terra then cast Blizzaga, which hit the target, and Gau took advantage of the opportunity, surrounding himself in wind energy and charging against the velociraptor at high speed.

Edgar launched his jump attack, hitting the velociraptor in the head and causing it to fall. ''Now, Hiryu! Finish it!'' he ordered. Hiryu immediately obeyed, enveloping the dinosaur in flames with her fiery breath and killing it with a bite to the throat.

(''Let's Hit the Climax!- Bayonetta OST-s'')

When the battle was over, Terra looked around to see if there were any other enemies, and saw none. ''I think it's done,'' he said.

''You did great, Hiryu. Go back to the airship, we'll get to you there later.'' said Edgar. Hiryu nodded and flew away, taking the velociraptor's carcass with him.

''Where the heck did that dinosaur come from?!' exclaimed Sabin.

''Dinosaur Forest, north of here.'' replied Gau.

''The Dinosaur Forest?'' asked Edgar.

Celes took the map and saw an island north of where the Veldt was. Its shape was similar to a dinosaur, and Gau pointed with a finger to the location of the forest, which was shaped like a dinosaur head. ''That explains everything.'' he said.

''I still can't understand how many monsters migrate into the Veldt if they don't have wings.'' Setzer commented.

The monsters he had recovered from his injuries approached Gau and began licking and rubbing on him, which gave Sabin the feeling that they were the ones who had raised him. ''That's your family, isn't it, Gau?'' he asked. Gau looked at him confused. ''What? Don't you know what family is?''

Gau nodded, and Sabin was saddened. He understand complex things, yet he didn't know the meaning of family?

''I wish we could do something about it.'' said Terra, looking at Gau sadly.

''Maybe we will, but it will have to wait.'' said Cyan.

''Hey, Gau, what happened here while you were training? Why were they all injured earlier?'' asked Celes.

''Feral Ones attacked. The leader died. Kefka's fault. Gau new leader.'' replied Gau.

''You mean that a group of monsters corrupted by Kefka attacked you and the tribe you lived with? And did you become the new leader of a resistance of monsters because the old leader, the one who raised you, was killed?" asked Edgar. Gau nodded.

"Well, you've finished your training, and staying here in Veldt is dangerous with what happened. I'm not saying the rest of the world is less dangerous, but you should come with us, we need your help.'' said Sabin.

Gau agreed to continue fighting with his friends, but wanted to take a moment to say goodbye to the monsters and tell them to hold on in his absence.

''Hey, Gau, did you see one of our comrades somewhere?'' asked Setzer. Gau nodded again and mentioned a cave not far from their current location.

''Good. But first let's stop for lunch, all this traveling and fighting made me hungry.'' declared Sabin.

''Alright. I'm hungry anyway. We will stop for a lunch break and then continue our search.'' said Celes.

''Gau had spent a whole year in the Veldt as part of his intensive training with monsters, but when Celes and the others reached him, they discovered the existence of the Beasts and the Fallen, and that he had become the leader of a monster resistance army against those who had been corrupted or experienced by Kefka. After Gau had rescued them from an army of Feral Ones, they found medicinal herbs to help some wounded monsters, with whom he had grown up, and once they defeated a velociraptor, they marched to the cave in the Veldt...'' Mog recounted.

A/N: Alright, chapter complete! Gau has also been found, and his training seems to have paid off! But who will be in the cave in the Veldt? Find out in the next chapter! Until next time!

(1): This series of attacks is a reference to Pikachu of Pokémon, in particular to his moves from the anime, namely Thunderbolt, Iron Tail, and Volt Tackle the latter move exclusive to his evolutionary line, obtainable by breeding.

(2): This is a reference to Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and its sequel Radiant Dawn, which are set on the continent of Tellius, where in addition to humans, called beorcs, there are there laguz, human-looking shapeshifters who can transform into animals. One of the most important antagonists of the duology, Izuka, has created a drug that transforms laguz into Feral Ones to use as tools of war, and in Radiant Dawn, he also uses it on a tiger laguz, Muarim. He is fortunately cured before the worst happens, but his best friend Tormod, a young mage that he adopted when he was an infant, sees him on the verge of losing control. This substance also affects humans, destroying their sanity, as happens to Renning, Princess Elincia's uncle. Enemy Feral Ones appear in Path of Radiance as reinforcements in Chapter 14 and then as normal enemies in the late game starting in Chapter 22, and in Radiant Dawn in Chapter 5 of Part 4.

(3): In Metroid: Samus Returns and Metroid Dread, Samus has access to the Melee Counter, with which she hits the enemy with her Arm Cannon. This attack barely deals damage, but can be used to block enemy attacks, and the time to do so is when a white flash appears and a click-like sound is heard. If Samus manages to use the counter on a boss, including Metroids, a cinematic will start in which she will be in an advantageous situation.

(4): The frying pan is a characteristic item in the Tangled series, in which it is often used as a weapon by Rapunzel.