This chapter took me a very long time to finish. I started this chapter about four months ago, but I only added bit by bit...and finally put the rest of it together last night. I edited the hell out of it over the last few months... and edited more tonight... and I'm still not sure how happy I am with it. HOWEVER, now the story is going to make more sense... Meaning that the stuff that is happening in Locke's 'present' is starting to connect to his past. Not anything extremely significant, but the next few chapters WILL get more interesting, I PROMISE! (It's about time, ya know? I'm already at chapter 17) This chapter obviously starts out after chapter 14; after Locke and Celes escape South Figaro. Okay, I have the next like six chapters written, so I will probably post one a night or something like that. Oh yeah, I didn't intend to make this chapter so long, but there wasn't a decent spot to cut it. I hope it doesn't drag too much...

17. The Frozen Esper

Locke and Celes quickly made their way through Narshe, going through the front entrance instead of trekking through the mines. The guards were gone from the front gate, so they knew that they wouldn't run into any trouble, and it was a direct route. They ran up the stairs to Arvis' house as fast as they could, stopping once they reached the door. A window was opened a slight crack, so they could hear the elder speaking to everyone else inside.

"Oh thank the goddesses," Locke muttered under his breath as he rested his hand on the doorknob and recognized the voices that were coming from within. "Everyone is safe and okay."

"But…" The elder began with a sigh and a heavy heart. "That was only because Doma was collaborating with the Returners! If we make that mistake, Narshe might end up the same way."

"That's nonsense!" Locke cried out when he heard the elder's remark. He flung open the door so hard that it hit the wall as he and Celes walked into the living room of Arvis' house. "The Empire doesn't give a damn about the Returners!"

"Locke!" Terra exclaimed in happiness when she saw him, then flung her arms around him. "You're all right!"

"Of course I am!" He replied with his trademark smile as he hugged her back. After releasing Terra from his embrace, he started to walk toward the back of Arvis' house, shouting over his shoulder, "Great, now let's get out of here!"

"Wha—why?" Arvis asked in surprise as Locke stopped in his tracks and turned toward everyone again. "Locke, what did you find out in South Figaro?"

"Well, first of all, South Figaro is now in control of the Empire. Everyone there is scared, but who wouldn't be?" Locke began with a shake of his head. He looked over at Edgar and the young king's face was flushed with anger. "They're not attacking the citizens, so I guess things will be fine over there for the time being. But maybe they're staying civil because the Empire's poised to attack Narshe right now!"

"What?" Edgar cried as everyone gasped and began to murmur amongst themselves. "You've gotta be kidding us here!"

"I wouldn't joke about something like this, so let's go!" He urged as he motioned toward the door.

"Locke," Banon began in a calm tone of voice, taking a few steps closer to Locke. "This is incredibly serious. Where'd you hear that?"

Locke looked over at Celes, who blushed a deep shade of red from the gaze. "Celes, here, used to be one of the Empire's generals. She was able to tell me this."

"What do you mean she 'used to be?'" The elder asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion as Celes bowed her head in shame. Before she had a chance to explain herself, Cyan's eyes went wide and he slightly growled.

"I knew she looked familiar! Sir Gau, out of my way!" With great force, he threw the young boy out of the way, causing him to run into Terra. If it weren't for Edgar catching her, she would've fallen backward. Locke was about to protest and ask this man what his problem was, but before he could speak, Cyan continued with, "This is General Celes! She torched Maranda! She's nothing more than an Imperial spy!"

"Whoa!" Locke snapped as he put his hand on Cyan's shoulder to stop him from attacking the poor young woman. "Just who the hell do you think you are?"

"I am Cyan, retainer to the king of Doma!" He explained as he tried to get closer to Celes. Locke tightened his grip on Cyan, and the older man glared at him. "Are you aware that the Empire just poisoned the river, thus murdering all the citizens of Doma?"

"Oh no," Celes exhaled as she looked at Locke with wide eyes. "They did it. Kefka did it!"

"You knew about this?" Cyan shrieked, reaching for the sword that was at his hip. "That's it! She must be stopped! Now, young man, stand aside!"

Celes' patience ran thin so she reached for her sword as well, causing everyone to gasp. To stop them from killing each other, Locke literally stepped between the two of them. "WAIT!" He cried as the elderly man's eyes burned in Celes' direction. "I don't know who you think are you to make judgments, but Celes has joined the Returners! She's fighting with us now!"

"But…!"

"I promised I'd protect her," Locke continued to explain as his eyes began to flare up as well. His voice had an edge to it and he didn't realize his tone. He firmly continued with, "I will not back out on my word."

"Locke…" Locke turned his head to Edgar, who was giving Locke a queer look.

"What is it, Edgar?" Locke asked, his voice still sharp.

Edgar took a few steps closer to Locke, his voice still gentle. "Are you still thinking about…that?"

Instead of responding, Locke shot Edgar a warning glare. Why am I getting so worked up about this anyway? He thought, clenching his fits by his side. It's because she looks so damn much like her…After a second, Locke inhaled and looked off to the side. "Edgar, we'll talk about this later."

Terra could feel the tension in the room and wanted to drive the attention away from Locke, so she timidly walked closer to Cyan and bowed her head. "Sir, I was also an Imperial soldier."

"What?" Cyan cried as he whipped around to face Terra. Her head was still pointed to the ground as he walked closer to her. Everyone remained quiet, so he looked away from Terra and made his eyes pass over the other people in the room. "How are we supposed to be fighting the Empire when we have their spies around?"

"Spies?" Terra cried as she jerked her head up. "I never said that!"

At the same time that Terra spoke, Celes put her hands on her hips and exclaimed, "Now, wait just a minute!"

"Enough!" Banon stated, shocking everyone by the severity in his tone. "I do believe there are more important matters at hand than futile bickering like this."

"But these two women worked for the Empire!" Cyan restated, pointing to Terra and Celes as he spoke. Locke noticed that Arvis, the Elder of Narshe, and Banon were all watching Celes to make sure that she wasn't going to reach for her weapon again. Her hand rested on her hip, but Locke could tell that she wanted to slice Cyan in half. "Do correct me if I am mistaken, but the Empire is the enemy."

"First of all," Edgar began calmly as he took a few steps toward Cyan. "Banon is right, there isn't time to have mindless discussions such as these. Besides, like Locke said, Celes quit the Imperial army, and Terra here was under the control of the army against her will."

"I know there isn't anything that I can say, but please, you have to trust me," Celes explained, moving her hands from her hips to across her chest. "I wouldn't go around spreading things like this." Cyan harrumphed, causing Locke to roll his eyes.

"Look, pal," Locke started sternly as he faced Cyan one more time. "I don't care if you like it or not, but she's not leaving. She's now with us, she now wants to help us, and most importantly, I gave her my word."

Cyan gritted his teeth and Locke looked over at Edgar to say something else for he was losing his patience. I don't want to argue with a stubborn old man…He thought impatiently, shaking his head. Edgar took a few steps forward and bowed his head. "The Empire's evil, we all know that. But not all of its citizens are! There are still many people out there like the Returners who are against the doings of Gestahl and his puppets."

"I'm one of them," Celes pointed out, widening her stance and tilting her head upward. "I know what the Empire is up to and I know that they're coming to Narshe right now. If you want to live, I would suggest you listen to Locke and focus on what's going on."

"I…I mean…" Cyan stammered, astonished that a woman would stand up to him in such a manner, yet alone a woman who was so much younger than himself. He sighed in defeat as he nodded his head. "Very well, I'm listening."

"That's better," she snapped with a flick of her wrist toward Locke. "All right, Locke, what's the plan?"

Locke widened his eyes at her statement, and then slowly started to turn a nice shade of red. "That's flattering that you want to put me in charge and all, Celes, but this is Banon's duty. He's the one that runs the show around here."

"Oh," she said quietly and looked toward the old mentor. "I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean to step on your toes or anything."

"Not a problem," Banon replied with an amused smile. "Okay everyone, we need to think about this rationally. If the Empire is going to attack Narshe, we need to figure out if we're going to fight or if we're going to see if there is another way."

Sabin let out a chuckle and walked over to Cyan. "Oh, this is amusing," he said, putting his elbow on Cyan's shoulder as an armrest. "Banon, no offence, but there isn't another way. The Empire won't want to reason with us."

"Sabin's right," Edgar piped in with a proud smile toward his younger brother. "The Empire seems to think with their swords and Magitek weapons and they aren't very fond of giving a large explanation of their actions. Therefore, I guess we just need to know where to strike from…?"

As if an answer to Edgar's question, a Narshe guard ran into Arvis' house. "Emergency!" He shouted as he tried to catch his breath. "The Empire cometh!"

The elder let out a laugh, and Locke could tell that it was a laugh out of disbelief. "Ha, I guess this settles it. We really have no choice. Let's make ready for war!"

Banon nodded and walked closer to Celes. "Young lady, you know the Empire's plans? Can you give us any insight?"

"I wish I could," Celes replied quietly as she looked down at her hands. "I was proclaimed a traitor before they began making plans for this attack. In all honesty, it was an attack planned by Kefka, so I'm not even sure if Gestahl knows about it. Kefka does a lot of things behind Gestahl's back, so this isn't anything new. However, when I was being shipped to South Figaro, I overheard some Imperial soldiers talking about how they found 'it' in Narshe and they were going to attack and get 'it.' I'm not sure what 'it' is though."

Terra gasped and looked at Arvis as she had a thought. "The Esper!"

Banon nodded in agreement and eyed everyone in the room. "Terra's right. They're after the frozen Esper that was discovered a short time ago."

"We moved it into the hills," the elder informed them all, causing Locke and Edgar to practically sprint toward the door. "We wanted to put it in a safer spot."

"Then we're going after it," Edgar announced, opening the back door and pointing to it. "Banon, you know these mines better than we do, so why don't you lead the way?"

Banon nodded and walked out the door with everyone closely behind. Terra walked up to Locke and looked up at him. She wasn't smiling, but there was a sparkle of excitement in her eyes, leaving Locke bewildered.

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were enjoying this entire situation," he said as he playfully ruffled up her hair.

"No, but I want to know what the Empire is up to," she replied with a stately nod then fixed her hair. "I think this is going to be the only way to find out. Plus, I want a closer look at that Esper. I just…have a strange feeling about that word. I know it sounds weird, but every time I hear it, I break out into goosebumps. I wonder why that is?"

"Who knows?" He shrugged as he put his hands deeply into his pockets. The biting wind nipped at his face and he felt himself shudder. "Damn, Narshe is so cold all the time. I think I'm used to the Western Continent or something."

Terra looked down at her feet then slowly looked back up at Locke. "So, Locke, where'd you meet that girl?"

"In South Figaro," Locke responded with a smile, glancing ahead shoulder to see Celes and Edgar talking. "I think you'd get along with her rather well. You know, she can use magic too."

With a gasp, Terra sprinted to where Celes was. Locke chuckled as she stopped Celes to drill her with questions. At least we have some information on the Empire now…He thought as he passed the two girls and climbed up some steps. Who knows what would be going on right now if she didn't overhear about Kefka and the poison…He whipped his head up at his own thought and didn't even bother finishing the rest of the sentence in his head.

"Dammit!" Smacking his hand against his forehead, he ran up to where Edgar was and made sure that he was a decent distance away from everyone else before he spoke. "Edgar, have you ever had one of those enlightenment moments several moments after someone says something?"

"I'm listening, Locke," he said, giving the young man his full attention. "You've been jumpy ever since you came to Narshe, so what is it?"

"Edgar, think about what what's-his-name said about what happened at Doma recently," Locke began to explain, referring to Cyan. "The poison. Doesn't the entire situation sound familiar? The Empire wanting something so Kefka goes behind their backs and uses poison to weaken their defenses?"

"What are you talking about?" Edgar narrowed his eyes at his young friend. "Nothing is sounding familiar about it."

"That's what Kefka did in Jidoor at the VanLente's!" Locke exclaimed, looking around to make sure that no one heard him. He lowered his voice and continued to explain. "It's exactly what happened at Rachel's 19th birthday party a while back! The Empire wanted the Clemix Diamond, so Kefka poisoned the guards and tried to get it!"

Edgar chuckled and shook his head. "I still don't get where you're going with this."

"I'm getting to the point!" Locke cried, once again lowering his voice. "Okay, well, also a while back, Vaughn had Xane and I go to the Opera House to steal that necklace that the Queen of Doma had right before she died. It contained the…the…the…what the hell was the name of that damn thing? You know what I'm talking about?"

With a rather loud gasp, Edgar grabbed onto Locke's shoulder in surprise. "Dear Goddesses! The Alexander jewel was in the center of the necklace! But wait," he said, calming down as he thought about it again. "Vaughn sent you out to get it, like, a year and a half ago though, Locke. You don't suppose it took Kefka that long to find out where it was, do you?"

"I do," Locke replied simply. "It's all connecting. I mean, look at the poison thing. At least Kefka is remotely predictable and uses the same method."

"Look at these two." Locke and Edgar whipped around to see Terra and Sabin pointing to them and shaking their heads. "They're quiet, whispering, and looking around to make sure that they're not being heard."

"Yep," Sabin agreed with a chuckle. "If I didn't know any better, I would say that they're gossiping."

"We're not gossiping, we're discussing some very important business related…things," Edgar clarified, intriguing Terra and Sabin even more. The two of them exchanged glances before running up to Locke and Edgar. "We can't discuss anything with you two here!"

"Aw, you're no fun!" Terra said with a pout. She grabbed Locke's arm and when he looked at her she stuck her lip out even more. "I'm curious! Tell me!"

"Hmm, let me think about it for a second." Locke put his hand to his chin and looked up at the sky. After a second, he looked back at Terra and gave her a pat on the top of her head. "Not a chance."

Before Terra could respond, Banon froze in his tracks upon reaching a flat terrain area. When the others reached him, they saw what caused him to stop walking; there was part of the Imperial army lining up about 300 feet away.

"Lookie what we have here," Sabin said with a nervous chuckle, rubbing his left temple with his hand. "The army wanted to throw us a welcome party."

"Like he said earlier," Edgar began to say to Banon as he pointed at his brother. "Reasoning isn't going to do the trick here. We have to fight, there's no other way."

"Agreed," Banon replied with a nod. He took a few steps closer to Terra and put his hand on her shoulder. "Are you prepared?"

Terra looked at him in shock then put her hand on the hilt of her sword. "Um, yes. I…I'm prepared."

"Going down there full force will leave blind sides open and the soldiers will be able to make their way into the town," Celes explained, pointing as she spoke. "I guess if we go into three groups there won't be…a…"

Locke narrowed his eyes at her as she slowed down her sentence, but realized that she had her eyes fixated on something. There was another man coming behind the row of soldiers and Locke knew he could recognize that ridiculous outfit anywhere. "Well, I guess a party isn't complete without a clown."

"What's he saying?" Celes asked, halfway in a panic as she watched Kefka weave his way through the soldiers. Locke could see them nodding periodically, but he couldn't hear Kefka's voice. As he looked around, he realized that everyone had shrugged his or her soldiers. "Damn it, I wish I could hear him. Well, now that I think about it, I'm not sure if I really want to get that close to him."

"Very good point." Terra stood on her tiptoes to look over Locke's shoulder.

"They're coming!" Banon announced when he noticed that the soldiers all started to walk closer to their location on the mountain. "I'll stay here. The rest of you split up and stay healthy."

"Since Celes and I can do magic, we should be in two different groups so we can do cure spells." Locke nodded at Terra as she stood between he and Edgar. "I'll go with you two guys."

Celes and Cyan exchanged looks and they both huffed at the same time. "I'm not going in the same group as him!" Celes clarified, walking to the other side of Terra, Locke and Edgar. She looked up at Sabin, who had a goofy smile plastered on his face. "I guess that means I'm going with you, Muscles."

"No complaints here," Sabin said, looking at Locke and giving him a wink. Locke chuckled as he shook his head.

"All right, let's get this over with," Locke muttered, grabbing his dagger. "The sooner this is over, the sooner we can make sure that Esper is still safe."

As quickly as they could, they made their way through the soldiers down to where Kefka was. Locke was thankful that they were all basically healthy and Terra still looked like she could do quite a few more spells. Edgar, Terra, and Locke met up with Sabin and Celes right in time to see the amused look on Kefka's face.

"Ah, look, it's Miss Chere, the traitor!" Kefka looked at Celes and enjoyed how she was fuming over his sentence.

"Yeah, no thanks to you, you rat bastard," she shot back, standing in a fighting stance with her sword in hand.

"It's a good thing I got you kicked out of the army," he began as he shook his head and clicked his tongue. "You're too big of a bitch to be a general."

Without missing a beat, Celes retorted, "And you're too big of an asshole to run the world, so I guess we're even now, aren't we?"

Instead of saying anything back, Kefka struck out at Celes with his sword, causing her to stumble backward. Ignoring the blood that was now starting to ooze out of the new wound in her arm, she stood up. Locke figured this was the best time to jump in to help, and Edgar, Sabin, and Terra joined in as well.

After several minutes of intense fighting, Locke realized that he was starting to pant; yet Kefka was completely fine. As a matter of fact, he was laughing and mocking the five of them as they fought him with all their might. What the hell is this guy made out of? He thought, hearing Kefka's laugh echo throughout the mountains.

"Well, thank you for this entertainment! I don't know about you kids, but I had fun!" Kefka exclaimed, effortlessly dodging another attack from Edgar. "Don't think you've won. I'll be back."

"And we'll be ready," Terra said, not putting her guard down.

"Aack!" He made a face at her, then turned on his heel and began walking back through the mines toward South Figaro. Before he was out of sight, he shouted over his shoulder, "I won't forget this!"

Edgar sighed as he put his autocrossbow away. "And again he has to have the last word."

"Where's Banon?" Terra asked and they all turned toward Cyan, Gau, and Banon.

"Where's the Esper?" Edgar countered as he started to walk toward that direction.

Breaking out into a jog, Locke asked, "Is it okay? I mean, I know the army didn't get past us, but I just want to make sure that nothing happened to it."

"I'm glad you're all safe," Banon said when everyone reached him. "Now, let's go find that Esper. The Elder gave me pretty specific directions of where it was located, so it should only take us a few minutes to find it. I suggest that we walk briskly."

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Locke felt his skin break out into goosebumps when they arrived where the Esper was hidden. It was much larger than he thought it was going to be and he was quite frightened by it. It was encased in ice and wasn't moving, but he still wanted to keep a great distance away from it.

"Can it…still be alive?" Cyan asked Banon, even though he was still looking at the large Esper.

"No way, that's impossible!" Sabin responded with a chuckle. Looking at everyone else, his confidence faded and turned his head toward Banon. "Um, it is impossible…right?"

Locke noticed the look on Terra's face, and he wasn't sure how to describe it. Maybe awe? He thought as he studied her more. Her face was pale, yet she didn't tremble. She looked at the Esper, blinking occasionally in a dreamlike state. With a gasp, she started to back away, so Locke rushed to her side. "Terra! What is it?"

"Nooo!" She shut her eyes tightly and a bright light was emitted out of the Esper, causing her to scream. When Locke felt the light hit him, it knocked him backward at such a force that he flew over the edge of the cliff. Luckily he was able to grab onto the edge without falling, but he hit his head extremely hard in the process.

"Locke!" Celes shouted, rushing to the edge of the cliff and helping him back onto solid ground. He fell to his knees and kept his eyes on Terra.

"Terra, what is it?" He asked as the young girl slowly walked closer to the Esper. The Esper let out another beam of light, knocking everyone down again. Locke cursed under his breath as he slowly sat up, but he was starting to feel dizzy from hitting his head. "What the hell…"

The Esper continued to glow and Terra still walked closer to the Esper. "Terra 'n the Esper…" Sabin mumbled, just loudly enough for Locke to hear him. "What's going on here?"

"There's some kinda reaction!" Edgar replied, stating the obvious as Terra began glowing along with the Esper. "Terra, maybe you shouldn't go any further."

"What?" Terra asked the Esper, putting her hand on her head. "What am I feeling?" Locke watched in horror as Terra talked to the frozen Esper, then answered it as if it was communicating with her by the flashes of light. "Huh? W…what's going on? Please…tell me! Who am I? Who?"

"Terra!" Locke cried out, another blinding flash pain going through his brain. He tried to get to his feet, but before he was halfway up, the Esper flashed again. When the light struck him, it pushed him down and his head hit the ground, turning his world into darkness.