YAY! A five chapter update...AND my favorite part of the fic! YAYAYAY! You have no idea how happy I am to be posting these!

All right, it took me a while to figure out what to write for this chapter...but I think this part of the game is okay. It actually talks a lot about some upcoming chapters, so it worked out better than I planned. If there is something that Locke thinks in this chapter that makes you say "What the hell?" Don't worry, it'll be explained in the upcoming chapters. It was hard to write this chapter without spoiling anything. I actually had to stop myself from writing a few things. Oh well. Okay, here's this chapter!

32. The Death Of Leo

"General Leo," Terra whispered as she looked down at the freshly covered grave at the edge of Thamasa. Everyone was gathered around the grave with Terra in the center, absorbing what had happened not longer than a half hour prior. When Locke, Terra, Shadow, and Strago set out to find more information out about Espers, they stumbled across the Three Statues; the beginning source of all magic. Even though the ones that they found were only replicas, they still contained a strong power to them, which drew the Espers to the area. The Espers agreed to talk to the Empire, but when they arrived back in Thamasa, Kefka and several soldiers were waiting. Not only did Kefka turn the Espers into Magicite in a blink of an eye, but he also decided to show everyone his power. He was practically invincible, and the young General didn't stand a chance.

Damn you, Kefka…Locke thought as the vision of Kefka brutally murdering General Leo swept through his mind. There was a sparkle in Kefka's eyes after he killed the man and his laugh echoed through the town. How can you simply kill a man who devoted his life to what he believed in...

It was the first time in Locke's life where he felt pity for the death of a follower of the Empire, but he wasn't about to regret those feelings. General Leo was different than other members of the army. Different since the first day I met him not long ago…He thought as he remembered his first encounter with Leo. He didn't want me harmed. He knew that I wasn't involved, so he let me go without question…

Locke carefully etched the words "General Leo Christophe, Beloved General and Friend" on a stone and placed it at the head of the mound as a makeshift gravestone. He didn't know what to say, so he only watched as the young girl knelt down and placed some flowers on the mound of dirt.

Not wanting to see the pain that was on Terra's face, he looked to his side to see Celes. Her blonde hair gently whipped in the wind and an unreadable expression adorned her face. He could tell that she was gritting her teeth, yet he wasn't sure if she was doing the motion to refrain from crying or if she was just extremely angry from what happened. Maybe both…Locke thought as he studied her. She kept her eyes on the stone and Locke wished he knew what she was thinking.

He put his hand on her shoulder and with a sharp inhale, she shrugged him off. "Please, don't," she muttered, taming a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Even though Locke wasn't happy about how she was hiding why she went back to the Empire, he knew that he was still going to keep his promise and protect her. Protecting her from physical harm I can still abide to, but I can't protect her from emotional pain…

Terra stood up and rubbed her hands together to clean them. "People only seem to want power. It makes sense to why they're after me." Locke had to strain his hearing to understand what she was saying, and he even found himself taking a step closer to her. "I have enough power to kill them with a raise of my finger. Do they really want to be like me?"

"Terra," Locke said when he heard her voice break. Here's another girl that I can't save from emotional pain…His thoughts were discomforting to himself and he shook his head.

Without responding, she bowed her head and closed her eyes. "General Leo, I…I wanted to learn so much more from you…"

I did as well…Locke thought. Even though he felt that the questions he wanted to ask General Leo were selfish, he was generally upset about the man's death. I wanted to know about the poison…If there was a cure or not. If…If Rachel could eventually be saved or if she has to spend the rest of her life in a peaceful sleep. Also, I wanted to ask him why Celes went back to the Empire…and…I wanted to clarify a few things that happened several weeks ago…

Was he just another innocent man who was wiped out by the Empire, or did he, too, have justifiable reasons for death? I…don't even know if he is dead…and now Leo can't straighten it out for me…Silence fell through everyone as Locke held in his tears. Slowly exhaling, he clenched his fists until his knuckles were white. It was all he could do without punching a hole in something. This is just too much…

The sound of rustling bushes interrupted Locke's thoughts and everyone looked up. "What was that?" Strago asked as he grabbed Relm and pulled her closer to him for protection. The color washed out of Relm's face and her hands flew to her mouth.

Locke turned to see what she was looking at and caught a glimpse of something limping. "Interceptor!" He cried as Shadow's dog slowly made his way over to Relm. She let out a cry and bent over to start consoling the dog.

"What the hell happened?" Strago asked the dog; speaking to him like he was going to answer.

"That's a nasty wound," Locke said, getting on his knees to inspect the gash that started at Interceptor's collar and ran halfway down his back. The blood was still seeping out of the wound, but by the amount of dirt that was in it, it was inevitable that Interceptor rolled in the grass to try to stop it.

"Shadow…" Terra exhaled. She put her hand on Relm's back, who was now crying at the sight of the pitiful dog.

"We not only lost Leo, but Shadow, too," Locke stated with a shake of his head. Slamming one of his fists in the ground, he continued with, "Curse the Empire! What the hell is wrong with Kefka!"

"Locke!" Terra yelled as she put her hands over Relm's ears. "Please, not around Relm."

"I'm sorry, I just…" He was so frustrated that words weren't coming out. They simply clustered together and he tripped over his sentence. Sighing to regain his composure, he took off his bandana and tried to wipe the blood and debris off Interceptor's wound. "We need to wash this to do a better job, but for now this'll have to do."

"Maybe it's just because I'm used to being around men who's hearts are made out of steel," Celes began to say as she played with her fingers, "but he was so gentle. Locke and Terra, before you two showed up, he was so kind to me."

"What are we going to do?" The tone of Relm's voice was full of devastation, and Locke felt his heart sink. She trailed her fingers between Interceptor's ears, receiving whines of gratitude from the wounded dog. "Are you sure that Shadow…"

With the back of her free hand, she wiped the tears away, not wanting to finish the rest of her sentence. Although Locke believed that since Interceptor was in such bad shape, Shadow probably fared worse, he didn't want to tell that to her. Especially if the Imperial Army still coats their weapons with the kind of poison that kills instantly…Locke thought as he slowly stood up.

"Well, I don't think that it's a good idea to stay in one spot," he said, holding the bloodstained bandana in his hand. "I'm assuming that the quicker we get out of here the better off we'll be."

"I'll go with you," Relm informed him quickly, grabbing onto his arm her with her tiny hands. "I don't want to stay here anymore. Grandpa, let's go with them. Please?"

Strago hesitated, so Terra nodded her head. "It is your decision, but you are welcome to travel with us if you would like to."

"I'm not sure about that, but we'll see," Strago said, looking down to see his granddaughter attempt a smile. "That's a big decision to make, Relm. This is also something that I would need to think about and not rush my thinking process."

"Well, sorry to rush you, but we can't afford to give you a lot of time to battle with it. Who knows what the Empire's next move is going to be." Locke bowed his head and exhaled. "Now I'm worried about Edgar and the others. We haven't seen them since we were in Vector. I wonder if they've found out anything that would be useful to us."

"I wish I could say they were safe…" Terra added. "I mean, if they were in the way of Kefka when he escaped his jail cell, anything could've happened to them."

"Yeah," Locke huffed, rolling his eyes. "I'm assuming that he left a war path behind him. Who's to say what happened to them." With another sigh, he looked back down at Interceptor. "Well, we should probably clean him up and then start to head back toward the southern continent."

"We can go back to our house," Strago said and began to lead the way.

Locke glanced over his shoulder to see that Terra and Celes both hesitated and kept their heads pointed toward the grave. He turned back to them and as soon as Celes saw his movement, she shook her head and began to walk after Strago, Relm, and Interceptor.

"Celes," he said as she passed him, but she didn't break her stride. It must be too hard for her to talk about it…the Empire has betrayed her once again…Terra looked up at him then adverted her gaze back to the grave again. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Um, I think so," she stated, exhaling the breath that she had been holding. "It's just that…He approached me when we were on our way here and we had a wonderful conversation. He was the only one who seemed to understand me and I wish he could've told me more about who I am. It was the first time that I was able to feel truly comfortable in the presence of the Empire. Actually, it was the first time I have been able to feel truly comfortable in a long time." Tilting her head up so she could look at Locke in the eyes, she continued. "I look at him and then I look at Kefka or Gestahl, and it makes me think; what was a man like General Leo doing with those two? He was the complete opposite of them."

"When I first met Celes, she told me that Gestahl never used to be like this," Locke explained. "She said that he used to be just like Leo, but when Kefka joined, he slowly started to turn into the man that we all know and hate today. Kefka has some kind of power over Gestahl, making him only a puppet who carries out his wishes. Leo has always been loyal and faithful to Gestahl, which is why he probably stuck with the Empire. He wanted to see if it was possible to change it back to what it was before."

Terra nodded her head and the two of them started to walk toward Strago and Relm's home. "I can't stop but wonder just how far Kefka is going to go. Is he going to become too strong for Gestahl to control? What'll happen then?"

"Locke, Terra!" The two of them turned toward the sound of the voice to see Setzer, Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, and Gau walking into town. Although Locke was disappointed that his conversation with Terra was cut short, he was thankful to see everyone. Edgar shook hands with Locke when he reached them. "I'm so thankful to see you're all okay."

"Same to you," Locke said, sighing in relief. "We weren't sure if anything happened in Vector or not."

"Well, we've been had!" Setzer exclaimed and threw his hands up in the air. "We officially know that the Emperor is nothing but a liar!"

Locke raised an eyebrow at the gambler's sentence and saw that Terra had the same look on her face. "Did…something happen in Vector?"

"Not really…" Sabin said, biting his lip and looking at the others for more information.

Cyan chuckled and gave Edgar a pat on the back. "Thanks to Edgar, we escaped before anything bad happened…"

"Oh really?" Locke asked as he crossed his arms. "For some reason, that doesn't surprise me, but way to go, Edgar!"

"You're blowing it out of proportion." Edgar tossed his head to get his hair out of his face then shrugged. "I got to know the gal who brought us tea. I talked to her a little bit later and after a while, she just blurted out the whole crooked plan."

The laughter that Edgar tried to keep in throughout his explanation finally escaped with his final words. Locke cracked a smile and shook his head. "Like I said, it doesn't surprise me."

"So, in other words…you finally hit pay dirt, eh?" Sabin asked with a playful nudge to his brother's chest.

Edgar shook his finger at Sabin and made a clicking sound with his tongue. "Watch your mouth, Sabin! There happens to be ladies present! I was a perfect gentleman."

"And what's your definition of 'perfect gentleman?'" Locke countered, not believing the fact that Edgar was able to get information from a woman without a shred of sweet talking. Edgar didn't respond. Instead, a sheepish smile crept on his face, causing Locke to scoff. "I knew it!"

Before anyone was able to say anything else, Celes flew the door open and ran outside to see everyone, Relm and Strago not far behind. "Oh, thank the goddesses you're all safe."

"Celes?" Sabin said, his jaw dropping at the sight of the general. "We were wondering what happened to you!"

"Yeah, don't worry about it," she told him as she looked at her feet.

Ignoring the conversation that Celes and Sabin were having, Edgar walked over to where Terra was standing and put his arm around her shoulder. "Not to change the subject here, but what's wrong, Terra? You look like the world just ended."

Terra opened her mouth like she was about to say something, then closed it again and bowed her head. Edgar looked up toward Locke, who changed his smile into a melancholy frown. "General Leo's gone. Kefka did him in."

"Sir Leo? Gone?" Cyan cried, his eyes going wide with each word he said. Locke, Terra, and Celes all nodded and Cyan shook his head. "Oh my word. What a waste. He truly was their finest soldier."

"Well then," Edgar said as he removed his arm from Terra and grew serious again. "That certainly is an unexpected turn. I've heard many things about General Leo and he definitely was much different than many other generals."

"I learned everything from him," Celes piped up, sadness in her eyes. "When I started to make my way up in the army, they teamed me up with General Leo. We went to the same locations, tried to investigate the same things…He really taught me everything that I know. Now he's gone. I don't…know what to do."

Locke was surprised that she came out and said that for it was very unlike Celes to admit that she was lost. Is that why she went back to the Imperial Army? He asked himself, itching his earlobe in thought.

"I guess that means that we need to rethink our plans." Edgar gestured to the exit of the town. "Let's return to the airship. It's parked to the north and shouldn't take a long time to get there."

Before anyone was able to take a step, Strago gently tapped Locke on his shoulder. "I don't mean to intrude, but may I accompany you? I have thought about it and realized it would be best for my sanity to help you out. You did save my granddaughter's life, so I feel I owe my life to you."

"Who're you?" Edgar asked, making a face and raising an eyebrow.

"Down boy," Locke quipped with a smile. "He's one of this town's citizens. We met him when we first came to this town."

"He's descended from the mage warriors of yore," Terra added, breaking her silence. "I think he can be a big help."

Seeing the quizzical look on the young king's face, Strago took a step forward. "We must expect the Empire to flex its new-found muscle soon. From everything that happened, it's safe to say that Kefka is now Gestahl's man in command."

"Me too!" Relm cried as she stood between Strago and Edgar. Grabbing her grandfather's sleeve, she began to bounce on her toes with excitement.

"I don't think so, Relm. It will be too dangerous." Strago told her firmly. She turned around and pouted at him at the same time that Sabin burst into laughter.

"Yeah, right, kid!" He said through his laughter. "Trying to outwit a psychotic man is not for kids."

"What?" She shrieked and stood on her toes so she would be a little taller. She only came up to the middle of Sabin's chest, but her attitude made it seem like she was five feet taller than him. With a poke to his shoulder, she looked over to Locke and Terra. "Who is this puffed up aerobics instructor, anyway?"

"Speaking of being outwitted," Edgar pointed out, receiving an amused look from Sabin.

"You've got a point." Bending over, he looked Relm straight in the eye. "Kid's got quite a lip! I've never seen such a short smartass."

"Aacck!" She puckered her lips in anger and narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm gonna paint your portrait if you don't behave!"

"You better shut your mouth, Sabin!" Locke warned as Terra and Strago rushed to separate the two of them.

"Um, okay…" Sabin said, utterly confused to what just happened. Terra slowly took her hands off of his arms to make sure that he wasn't going to say anything else to Relm, then exhaled.

"Anyway, like I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," Relm said, shooting a glare at Sabin before turning to her grandfather. "I really want to go, grandpa! If you leave me here, I'll be all by myself!" Her pout transformed into a sly smile and she tapped her finger against her chin. "Wait, now that I think about it, that might not be such a bad thing! I'll have the house all to myself! I can stay up late, have ice cream for breakfast—"

"All right all ready!" Strago exclaimed as he clasped his hand over Relm's mouth. "If you insist…"

"That's better," she replied, a proud smile on her face. "I knew you'd give in."

"That's settled, so let's go!" Sabin clapped his hands together and they all started to walk out of town.

Locke considered saying something to Terra or Celes, but he wasn't sure what he would say to either of them. General Leo had an influence on both of their lives, so what the hell can I say to console them and make them feel better? I wish I could've asked him some things. That would certainly make me feel better…I was supposed to have questions answered when I joined the Returners, but here I am; without information and still confused to what happened in Jidoor that day…