It took almost another day before they were ready. Flying back to Terratopolis had still been quite an ordeal. Once they got there, they quickly had to dispense messengers to pull as many espers back that they could. Some were solitary and loners, but they had to try. So long as these three dangerous espers were wandering around, no one was safe. Thankfully, it seemed as if all resistance on the Mist Continent had already ground to a halt. After having one city obliterated and another turned to rubble, there wasn't anyone willing to stand against the power of Alexandria. That meant that, for now, the Queen had no target with which to vent her new-found wrath.

Many espers had already gathered. Luckily, few people knew about the recent insurrection, so no one had actively sought out the rogue espers and thereby prompted a fight. For now, Leviathan found himself keeping things quiet again. He didn't want to generate any more of a panic. Some of the younger espers didn't think that it was even possible for humans to control their kind. Learning would cause more fear. And fear would eventually lead to anger against the humans, and might spawn a violent response. The truth of the matter was the human race had already suffered plenty without their help in the wake of Brahne's attacks.

Leviathan was perched at one of the windows around the central area of Terratopolis, giving him a good view of the courtyard below. Espers were wandering around there in a large crowd. A few were assigned to organize them and make sure they had room to stay in the mountain. However, as more of them showed up, their confusion was beginning to grow. Here, they were cramped, and that made anyone irritable. They were shouting out questions and puzzlements to one another, trying to figure out why they were there. Soon Leviathan would indeed have to give them a response. But he hoped he could separate them into groups first.

The sea esper abruptly heard footsteps behind him. Perking up, he turned around to see who had come. Ramuh was framing his doorway. Once Leviathan saw him, he walked closer to the sea esper.

"How is it coming?" The regent immediately asked.

"We've gathered about thirty powerful psychics so far." Ramuh explained. "Only twenty are exceptional. I wasn't exactly sure what your requirements were, or if you wanted us to take time to search for quality."

Leviathan frowned, but then shrugged. "Well, telekinesis is an ability we have to have. The greatest users of that power will be important. Make sure we get all of the good ones that we can. If we have room, go ahead and throw in a few more."

"Very well." Ramuh returned. He hesitated for a moment after that, and then bowed his head ruefully and sighed as well. "You know, sir, that I can't stay here. You will have to do this operation you are planning without me. I must make sure I am available to Garnet."

The sea esper paused after hearing that. He frowned again in response. However, he knew it was the truth. He and Starlet had to do the same thing when Rydia became their summons. And Ifrit and Shiva, popular summons among even child summoners, barely had time for anything else when one went on a dangerous trip. Still, he wasn't happy about it.

"…I don't suppose she made any attempt to use you against Atomos, did she?"

Ramuh frowned as well at that. "She didn't…and I would have thought her a fool if she did. With all due respect, my lord, what exactly was I supposed to do against Atomos?"

Leviathan recanted at that. He had a point. "…My apologies, Ramuh. I'm just…"

Ramuh lost his own frown, exhaled a bit, and then nodded, cutting him off. "I know, I know. You were just wanting to make sure that summoner was working on this. Don't worry, she is. She is actively searching for gems now."

Thinking of that, Leviathan was reminded of something else. He quickly straightened up and looked more attentive. "Yes, about that… Did she find the gems we left for her? Maybe if she could remaster her ability to summon Shiva and Atomos, that would be enough to snap them-"

But the old esper cut him off with a sad shaking of the head. His look became twice as regretful now, as if he had failed. "No…no, I'm afraid it's not possible. The only place we could plant the gems for her to find was in Treno, in the study of a doctor friend of hers. Unfortunately, for once, she didn't go back to familiar faces. Instead, she's gone on along with the rest of the group north, through the old Fossil Roo passage."

This only made Leviathan more confused. "Fossil Roo? What are they doing in there?"

The lightning esper sighed tiredly at this. "My lord…you should talk with Palidor if you want to know more. I have been busy running your errands and I've gotten most of this information second hand. And now, if I want to gather your requested espers before Garnet decides to teleport me into another battle, I need to get moving right now."

The sea esper paused at that sudden retort. He hesitated for a moment, but then realized he was suddenly asking a lot from Ramuh. Frankly, he was an esper so much like him that he trusted him above others. The only other one he trusted more was Gilgamesh… Poor kid. He could have used his help right now. But there was nothing for it. At last, he sighed again and gave a nod to Ramuh. The lightning esper immediately turned and began to walk out.

Leviathan was moments from turning back to seeing the escalating chaos outside, when he stopped. No sooner had Ramuh pushed his way through the doorway than he revealed someone else. There was another waiting to enter, staring silently at him and with an expressionless yet hard face.

Terrato.

The sea esper found himself swallowing. Nevertheless, he showed nothing as the esper made his way in. He seemed fairly calm, but it became obvious almost immediately that something was on his mind as he slithered in front of Leviathan. The regent inhaled deeply, looking down on him. For a moment, the two were silent.

"…Is it ready?" Leviathan asked at last, after a moment.

Terrato paused, but then gave a short nod. "Yes, my lord." He answered in a voice…too quietly. "We never did accurately replicate airship technology, as we never needed it before. But I think we can get the wreck working again on steam power."

The older nodded. "Good work. How is Ifrit?"

"Still beating himself up over losing Shiva."

"I see."

Terrato paused for a moment after that. The two stared at each other in silence.

"…Has Lord Bahamut returned yet?"

Leviathan hesitated. "…Not yet."

Another pause between the two. Terrato stared long and hard at Leviathan, unblinking and unmoving. In the end, he licked his thin tongue over his scaled lips.

"Sir…may I speak frankly?"

The sea esper felt a ripple of anxiety at this. This was what he was afraid of. It looked like the day may have finally come. "…Yes."

"I'm with you sir. I trust you. I've trusted you for years. We all have." Pause. "…But I have not been alive for so long by not being wise, sir. I'm not a fool. I know that something is up. I knew ever since Lord Bahamut came back that something was wrong. Then he started following you around as if he was the subordinate. Then there was that outburst on the battlefield. What is going on between you and him?"

Leviathan swallowed in response to that. He hesitated and slowly inhaled and exhaled. In the end, however, he looked to Terrato hard.

"You say you're with me. Do you swear it?"

"I do." Terrato readily replied.

"You said you trust me. Do you?"

"More than anyone else I know."

"Then do this. Go back to the stone monolith with the others. Complete it as best you can."

Terrato exhaled sharply at that. "My lord…"

"You said you trusted me, Terrato." Leviathan cut off. "If you do, you won't ask me this right now. Now is not the time. What is important is that the stone monolith is completed on schedule. Your fate, mine, and perhaps that of everyone on this world depends upon it."

"Lord Leviathan…"

"Are you going to trust me, or aren't you?" Leviathan suddenly challenged, raising his volume a bit.

Terrato stared back for a moment. He shut his mouth, but his eyes blazed as he stared at him. "…I can't keep quiet about this." He finally stated. "I can't do this on blind faith when I know that you're hiding something from us."

"Once the body is completed, I swear I'll tell you and everyone else everything." Leviathan assured, though in a desperate voice. "But not now. I can't tell you now. And if I did, trust me and know that it would only confound matters here. You know me, Terrato. You know I don't keep secrets unless I know that doing so is the best decision. It would be very bad for all of us if I came clean now. But you have to get the body finished first. I can only come clean then. Please believe me when I tell you my hands are tied."

Terrato stared back for a moment. There was obviously some doubt in his heart about this, and dis-ease about trusting it. However, that didn't last. The truth was he did trust Leviathan. And he was with him. Seeing the aggressive new Bahamut only made him more closely linked to him. In the end, he sighed in response and folded.

"…We need another two years to make sure all the micro-parts are installed."

"You have a week." Leviathan retorted.

Terrato's eyes expanded a bit as his jaw loosened. "A week? We can't get it fully functional in a week."

"If we don't get it ready to run in a week," Leviathan darkly responded, growing more serious. "We may never get it running at all. Already, I'm thinking that a week is too long. Do the best you can. Bring more help if you need it. Just get it functional in that time. I'm counting on you, Terrato."

The earth esper still hesitated. He looked anxious now. A week wasn't nearly long enough, and Leviathan knew it. The stone monolith had been so close to completion after hundreds of years…but it appeared that almost was still not good enough. He could only pray that somehow Terrato and the others could get it moving. That…and that nothing happened to damage it until this was over. In the end, Terrato drew in a deep breath, and then gave a tired nod.

"…We'll try our best."

Leviathan narrowed his eye at him at that. "Terrato…what did I tell you years ago about using that phrase?"

Terrato frowned a bit, but then sighed and nodded again. "Alright, my lord…we'll do it in a week."

"I'm sorry I can't give you more, Terrato. Thank you."

The earth esper merely continued to look downcast and tired. But in the end, he slowly turned away and began to slither back out the way he came. Leviathan was left alone on the balcony again. He followed the earth esper with his eyes as he left. Once he was gone, he began to look tired as well. Sighing, he turned back to the rail and looked out over the crowd below. The responsibility for their lives and well being, as that of the rest of the world, began to weigh heavily on him. He prayed that he would see some success soon…before more people began to suspect the truth.

Before despair really did settle in on all of them…

A bit later, Leviathan had retreated to one of the meeting rooms. He was alone for now, and outside the espers were still being organized and settled in. However, after talking with Ramuh, he wanted to get in touch with one particular esper. He was alone for now, because it was too much of a hassle to try and organize the others in this mess. Yet he did bring one esper around to talk with him…

Palidor was stretched over one side of the particular feature of this meeting room, a map of the existing world. It was a very special map. Every so often, due to the powerful forces constantly impacting the world, the continents would shift and reform. Luckily, this map was crafted from thousands upon thousands of magical sensors scattered all over the surface of Gaia. They constantly monitored the position of the continents and islands and relayed the messages back to this map, providing a constant look at what was going on. Leviathan was on the other side of it, as Palidor gestured over it.

"We were broken off in the middle of our scouting, but here is what we managed to gather." She began. "Garnet's group reached Lindbulm right after Atomos and the black mages destroyed it. Since then, Lindbulm has made a treaty of surrender to Alexandria to stay their wrath. After that, Garnet's group went through Fossil Roo, the ancient undersea passageway to the Outer Continent. By tomorrow for certain they will be here."

"Do we have any idea why they are here?" Leviathan asked.

Palidor stared darkly back. "I think…it might have to do with that other individual we scanned. There's been a lot of talk around Alexandria and in the higher levels of Lindbulm about a person named Kuja. He is a very powerful wizard. Apparently, he was the one who devised the way to make the black mages for Alexandria. I think that makes it a clear bet that the evil presence Terrato detected was the same person."

Leviathan hesitated a moment. He thought back to object that was watching their fight. Though he still had no proof linking them, he immediately believed that the anomaly had to be the one. Who else could think of such devices? Or control espers? Anyone else who wasn't one of the Queen's lackies would have fled in terror. That was enough for him. At last, he spoke up again.

"What about Alexandria?"

Palidor frowned. "Well, that's why I figured they were going after Kuja. The whole navy is reassembling, with every black mage they can muster. They're going to sail north as well to the Outer Continent. From what I gather, the Queen isn't about to let Kuja share the knowledge behind her military with anyone else. If she can kill him, then she'll stand unchallenged as the ruler of Gaia."

"Alright…and what of the rogue espers?"

"There is no sign of Odin or Atomos." Palidor answered. "However, we spotted Shiva. She went right back to the forest near Alexandria. But instead of attacking…she's just circling around it, keeping out of sight and watching."

Leviathan considered this. By now, the Queen had a good grasp of the powers of Atomos and Odin. They were capable of turning cities to rubble. Perhaps she had only spared Lindbulm because she thought it would help increase her wealth. However, Shiva not only was weaker than the other two, but she had an exploitable weakness in the form of fire. An army could conceivably drive her off. So she was doing the next best thing, using her as a sentry to target and eliminate any intruders. That was good. If she could stay in place for a few hours, then perhaps he could carry out his plan after all. He figured he had better be quick though. There was no telling when the Queen would depart. And when she did, Shiva could go with them. It would take a lot of power and coordination on everyone's part for this to succeed.

In the end, the regent nodded. "Alright. Good work." A pause, and then a sigh. "I hate to ask you this, Palidor…but could you return and resume your scouting work? You can take a group, if that would be better."

The bird esper hesitated at this, and looked a bit uncertain.

"They aren't actively hunting us." Leviathan reassured, sensing her fears. "So long as you stay away from them, if they appear, then they should ignore you. But I really need some eyes and ears on Alexandria at least. I need you to find out everything you can about this Kuja character. And I'd like someone to monitor every move that the Queen's fleet makes."

Palidor exhaled a bit, and still looked uneasy. However, in the end, she assented. She gave a nod in response. "I'll alert the chocobos. I'd really like the moogles as well, but I understand that Mog is still guarding Eiko. Fenrir is also good at hiding and sneaking around unseen…but I understand that she is keeping herself available for Eiko's summoning. I'll do the best that I can."

Leviathan nodded. "Thanks a lot, Palidor. I know I'm demanding a lot of everyone, but we have no choice if we want to save our friends."

The bird esper hesitated a bit, but then shrugged. "Don't mention it."

Leviathan had his doubts about this, despite the fact that this esper had been a reputable summon in the past. However, Fenrir was unavailable...and this one was the next best at what he needed.

"Now…you're sure you can teleport this?"

"Are you kidding?" A tiny, almost humorous tone squeaked in reply. "You're talking to Carbuncle! Energy fields, barriers, mass wave transductions… You got an aquarium you want a semi-permeable case on? A ton of dirt you need dumped in 2.4 seconds? A mouse you need guarded from an army of starving cats? I'm your esper!"

The regent still stifled a frown. He was walking into one of the side chambers he had been preparing along with Carbuncle at the moment. However…perhaps "walking with" wasn't a term being used literally enough. The long-eared, black-eyed, jewel crowned esper was barely the size of Leviathan's human foot. As such, the esper was actually perched on his shoulder and seeming quite comfortable as he led him on to and through the door into his specially prepared chamber. After turning back for a moment to cast a glance back to the hall, he shut the door behind the both of them, sealing them in the chamber.

As soon as they entered, Carbuncle's eyes expanded a bit, and he swallowed.

"Er…"

It had been a day since Leviathan had first overlooked the migration into Terratopolis. Since then, he had been working hard on enacting his plan. It would require mass use of magical technology, as well as the abilities of many of their psychic espers. Yet despite the amount of effort they were putting into this, it was still going to be mostly a test run. And for that matter, he was doing this on Shiva first.

Leviathan had this chamber specially prepared. The walls were reinforced with fire elements, making it impossible for Shiva to break out once inside. Telekinetic espers formed one group, surrounding a large drawn symbol on the ground. Also surrounding it were various crystals, each one peaking up in a rod or pillar format. They shimmered as if some power was activated within them. Leviathan had prepared and set these up himself. He knew they matched an identical pattern of crystals north of Alexandria harbor. The two sets formed a sort of field between each other, making a connection of energy between the two points. Alone, it wasn't enough for Leviathan's plans, but hopefully Carbuncle would make the difference. There was a place for him in the room too. A raised platform with mats for various espers was opposite the crystals. Here, arranged in a circle, were some twenty psychic espers, each one looking ready and alert and keeping their eyes on Leviathan. But what had no doubt shocked Carbuncle the most had to be what was in the midst of the crystal rods.

A massive ship had been constructed within the room. But not just any ship…a Lindbulm airship. Many had been smashed in Atomos' attack. But the espers had recovered one and brought its remains here. It had been reassembled and ran on steam power now. In fact, the airship was already humming loudly as its engine chugged. Its propellers sputtered as they rotated, and it slowly hovered up and down above the center of the symbol. It was covered with the signs and insignias of Lindbulm. It also had been equipped with the largest cannons the city possessed, all of them armed and ready to fire.

Carbuncle blinked and continued to stammer as Leviathan walked up to the symbol on the floor. The other espers watched him and calmly waited for the word. At last, the regent came to a halt in front of the machine. Carbuncle blinked. He looked up, and saw the huge craft hover up and down, its massive shadow and hull dwarfing his pathetic body. After a moment, he turned back to Leviathan. He swallowed slightly…

"Um…I don't know about this."

"You said you could teleport anything."

Carbuncle guffawed. "Yeah…but this isn't an anything. This is an extremely large something. I don't even know if I can get this out of here, let alone pull it and another one back."

Leviathan frowned at this. And after he had been so cocky earlier… There was one particular power that was somewhat rare among espers. That was the ability to teleport. Few were capable of pulling it off under their own power. Even fewer had the ability to extend the power over others. Usually, however, it only worked by keying in on the spiritual tag that was on all living things, and even then only over a few individuals. Yet now Leviathan needed it done for something much larger, and for that same thing to be brought back with cargo.

"That's why I've set up these rods." Leviathan answered. "It should enable you to teleport this thing to the desired location and teleport it back. It will concentrate your power on that specific area."

Carbuncle frowned in response, and scratched his head. "I dunno…"

"You better know." Leviathan sharply retorted, causing the tiny esper to wince a bit. "Because I only proceeded with this plan because you claimed you could do it."

Carbuncle moped in response to this, but also swallowed hard after getting Leviathan's tongue-lashing. Then, before he could do anything else, he yelped as Leviathan turned him over and dumped him on the ground. The creature was cat-like enough to land on his feet, but he still gave a cry as he landed. On doing so, he turned back to Leviathan and bristled his long ears at him, hissing and spitting at him having done that. Yet the regent responded with an icy glare of his own…instantly shutting the smaller esper up and having him cower into obedience. He nervously turned away from the sea esper and turned his full attention to the monstrous object before him.

When he did, Leviathan turned his attention away and looked up to the bridge of the airship instead. He couldn't see that well, but he already knew that another was at the helm. He wasn't the best pilot among the espers…but luckily these airships didn't require that much effort to successfully maneuver. All he had to do was rush to Alexandria and rush back. That said…he was a bit nervous about having him at the helm. Yet he knew at least that with him doing it he would be sure that at least one member of this squad would try their best to do their part. And so, he called out to the cockpit.

"Are you ready in there, Ifrit? We're going to start soon."

Moments later, the window popped open, and a great horned canine head poked out. "Then let's go already!" He roared back. "I've been waiting for half a day now!"

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I've never been so sure of anything before in my life! Do it!"

Leviathan frowned. He inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled. He didn't like how reckless Ifrit was sounding. He knew his emotions would get the better of him now. However, hopefully that wouldn't be a factor. And there was no more time for delays. He had tried to rush to prepare all of this, and now he had to see if it really worked. Speed was of the essence. At last, he turned down and looked back to Carbuncle. The tiny esper was in front of the ship now, and was stabilizing himself. However, at the pause, he turned and looked behind to the regent. Leviathan gave him a nod.

"Do it."

Carbuncle swallowed again. The other espers in the chamber went silent and watched him. He steadied himself a bit more, but then turned and looked back to the airship. That done, he sighed again, and then flipped both of his tiny green paws up. He swung both in a circle, and then pressed them together in a praying format. That done, he closed his eyes and began to focus. Leviathan lookedup in expectation.

Carbuncle continued to slowly turn his arms around. As he did, the gem on his head began to softly glow deep within it. The crystal surface refocused the glow as it did, and rays began to be projected on the massive airship. However, as Carbuncle chanted quietly to himself, the glow slowly began to rise, like a flickering flame that grew stronger as it slowly burned up fuel. No one said a word, but stared in anxious anticipation. As the gem grew brighter, the rays consequentially grew stronger. Their intensity increased while their path began to widen. It slowly traced its way over the surface of the craft and made its way to the edges. It filled out the main hull, the engine, the cabin, and even the propellers. Still Carbuncle continued to chant and rotate his arms, making it glow stronger and more intensely. The airship began to turn red underneath his ruby light.

All of the sudden, a whine began to sound. The source was not clear, but it quickly began to grow stronger. It started off like an object striking crystal, but it only grew more intense with time. As it did, Carbuncle's laser seemed to affect the craft. The ruby light that was first just projected on it seemed to penetrate it. It now dipped into the ship and made other parts not in direct contact glow. It continued to spread from there, like a piece of metal in a blacksmith's furnace turns red at the closest point, and gradually turns redder as it moves on down to the extremities. Carbuncle continued to focus until after a few minutes the entire ship was lit up and bright red. Once there, it held a moment. The tiny esper swallowed, hesitated, but then increased his focus.

As Carbuncle started to sweat and the ringing sound turned uncomfortable, other tones of the same type of whine began. These came from the crystal pillars. Each one lit up as well and began to shine. Their rays, however, were formed as straight lights. They projected onto the ceiling of the cave, and as they continued to grow in intensity they pierced the roof and went into the night. Similarly, thousands of miles away, the crystals of the target zone began to light as well. Carbuncle continued to strain, but as he did the crystals grew brighter. The multitude of sounds became stronger and stronger, becoming a chorus of ringing noise. The pillar shone so bright that they looked like a white cage surrounding the craft.

Then, at last, Carbuncle inhaled deeply and did a quick gesture with his hands. Immediately, a great burning sound resulted from the crystals and crafts. It gradually gave way to some sort of a ripping noise…although it was not like any physical thing ripping. It sounded as if the air, perhaps even time itself, was ripping. Leviathan recognized this as he stared on at the glistening objects. Warping tore a hole in the very fabric of the universe, creating a zero-distance portal to the desired location. The ripping sound grew louder, and the lights shone so strongly that they became blinding. All looked away as a great flash bathed the chamber in its glow…

Then, the ripping suddenly quieted down and shrank into nothing, all within a moment. At the same time, the lights dimmed, and the crystals returned to their original color. Carbuncle flopped his arms down, bowed his tiny head, and gasped in exhaustion. Even with help, that had taken a lot of effort. But as the others looked back, they saw that there had been success. Where the airship had been before, only a great open space in the center of the portal remained.

Leviathan and the others paused for a moment. The sea esper looked up with wide-eyes at what had happened, and though his expression was focused it was also betraying neither negative nor positive emotions. He hesitated a bit longer, but then turned away. Quickly, he marched to the other group of espers surrounding the blank space. As he did, he reached into the folds of his royal robe for a moment, and seconds later pulled out an interesting item: Whisper Grass. It was a very rare plant indeed. Even the espers had never mastered how fully to cultivate it. It took centuries to grow. But to the one who could sustain it and use it properly, it provided a wonderful function. When blades were freshly plucked that came from the same root, some blades could be given to one person and some to another. After doing so, for one hour (how long it took the plucked blades to die), whatever one said to one blade would be repeated by another. Leviathan had been saving it for just this moment. It was rare, unfortunately, and he could only use it for a very good purpose. That was why he couldn't give some to Palidor.

Leviathan held the blades to his mouth. He had never tried this over so long a distance. He hoped it would work. Even over short distances, it could be unreliable. A shriveled blade squeaked the voice, and one that had been munched on by an insect made the message break up. Still, he tried it.

"Ifrit, can you hear me?"

Leviathan paused for a moment after that. The rest of the room went silent and looked to him, seeing what the result would be. For a fateful moment, the sea esper feared the worst. But then, somewhat garbled and a bit distorted, yet with a clear message, a rough voice responded.

"Pst Yes…y lord…Pst…just outside…Alexandria…Pst"

Leviathan managed a smile at that. So did the other espers in the room. After hearing this, Leviathan raised the grass to his mouth again and spoke. "We'll be proceeding immediately with Phase II, then."

"Sounds…Pst…ood to me, my lo…Pst"

Leviathan lowered the grass and put it back into his robe. As he did, he immediately turned and began to motion to the rest of the room. "Alright, all of you. You heard that. We'll be proceeding immediately. Team A, prepare to use the full measure of your telekinesis against Shiva the moment she forms. Don't let her so much as blink. Team B, channel all of your power to me the moment that she is restrained. I'll take it from there. Carbuncle…I'm counting on you. Do whatever you need to teleport her and the airship back here."

Carbuncle nodded, and then inhaled deeply. He slowly turned back to the position, and already began to focus his power again. However, that was all that Leviathan watched. He had his own task to attend to. Immediately, he turned and walked to the central platform area. Once in the midst of the rest of the "Team B" espers, he turned and faced the open space. He slowly sat, crossing his legs as he did so, until he was in the proper meditation position. As he did, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the whisper grass, and then set it in front of him. It had been fifteen minutes since it had been plucked. There should still be plenty of time left, though. He waited patiently for word of what would happen. They all did, as Carbuncle's gem began to glow again.

For a good ten minutes, the espers sat there and waited anxiously. Leviathan propped his arms up on his knees by the elbows, folded his hands in front of his face, and stared coldly ahead. He tried to clear his mind so that he could make a good channel, but most of his anxiety was on what would come next. Carbuncle's jewel gleamed, and he projected a light onto the area around the crystals again. But there he held, and focused his power to that small extent. Leviathan tightened his hands and released them again and again, waiting for the news to come. No one said a word in that time. Finally, the stillness of the room was broken as a sound came from the whisper grass.

"I see…Pst…va! I…Pst…Shiva! I'm moving! Pst"

Hearing that, the esper looked up. The other espers in the chamber tightened. This was it. Now…the mouse needed only take the bait. Then they could move on with their trap. A few fateful seconds went by as Leviathan glared at the whisper grass, like his eyes could increase its transmitting ability or could speed up the response. Then…it came.

"Pst…following me! She's com…Pst She's coming!"

Leviathan tensed up fully at that. Immediately, he looked around the chamber to the waiting espers. One nod was all that they needed. They immediately bowed their heads and fully concentrated their powers. Leviathan then turned back to Carbuncle. The esper was still focusing his ruby light, but swallowed at that latest transmission.

"Carbuncle…the moment you hear Ifrit's next transmission…you must teleport what is at the other crystal diodes right here."

Carbuncle swallowed, but didn't complain. Slowly, he began to focus again and spread out his light, tensing himself up for the moment of transfer. As for Leviathan, he struggled to smooth himself out. He closed his eyes, and began to reach out his senses. He cleared his mind of anxiety and fear as best he could. There was still room for much to go wrong. Shiva wasn't a city leveler, but she could easily destroy a Lindbulm airship. If Ifrit couldn't stay ahead…if they didn't catch her in this trap…then it would all be for nothing… He prayed desperately that this would work.

Finally, the fateful word was spoken.

"Now!"

Taking in a deep breath, Carbuncle closed his eyes and immediately expanded his ruby light. The crystals lit up, and immediately the tower of white light was restored. Carbuncle grit his teeth and trembled. His muscles bulged. The light on his head burst forth with more radiance than before. The lights in the room once again burned strongly and turned blinding for a brief moment. The espers in the room once again were forced to look away. But now, it only lasted moments…

Gasping, Carbuncle relaxed an instant later and collapsed. The exhaustion was too much, and he swooned. The lights immediately went out. However…they had done their job. Only half of the airship had come through. The other half had been lost somewhere in the teleportation. It hovered in space a moment, showing off a huge cross section as the espers turned and looked to it, like it was some sort of schematic. But then, it abruptly dropped to the ground. The propellers were smashed, the lower hull collapsed, and a huge calamity sounded as it crashed and broke into thousands of pieces. Leviathan didn't care much for that. What was important was that the bridge had come through, and that Ifrit was safe and sound inside. That, and one other thing…

Red eyes blazing, yet now halted in sudden surprise, Shiva hovered over part of the symbol on the ground.

She looked around a moment, before suddenly her body went stiff as a board. She appeared surprised at this, but was nevertheless helpless to move or even turn her head. The espers in the first team had acted. Now, they all held their hands out at her and focused their telekinesis. Their cumulative mental force weighed her down and immobilized her. Even with her new powers, she was soon helpless to move. Leviathan stared at her a moment, and watched her struggle futily in her mental prison. But once he had caught his breath, seen that she had arrived, and saw that she was pinned, he drew himself up and calmed down. Very well, it was time for Phase III.

"Shiva! Hearken to me!"

The red eyed gaze of the frustrated esper turned to Leviathan. Not wasting a second, Leviathan's own powerful glare pierced hers. He began to stretch out his consciousness into her mind. It didn't take long before he was halted. The same solid wall of control blocked him. But he only paused against that for a moment. Then, he began to exert his own mental power.

The barrier did not move initially. But Leviathan had help. Seeing as he had begun, his team began to channel their mental strength into his, increasing his own power tenfold. As for Shiva, she began to struggle and attempted to break out of her telekinetic prison. But she couldn't. She was held too firm, and now the espers were forcing her to look into Leviathan's powerful blue eyes. The sea esper continued to push. The barrier still didn't move, and he put more power into it. He began to feel it push back as he did so, resisting his strength. Yet he kept pushing with everything he had. Soon, he was surprised. The mental control was so strong that he soon found himself exhausting his own base mental ability. But he had more thanks to the others, and grit his teeth and kept pushing. Still…there was resistance.

Balling his hands into fists, tightening his jaw, and developing a dark look, Leviathan doubled the power. Shiva gasped a bit at this…for whoever was controlling her didn't expect that sudden surge. But Leviathan was almost shocked to feel the barrier suddenly lunge right back at him, aggressively trying to push him back out of her head. He actually winced as he felt a headache ripple through his brain. But he was far from done. Immediately, he bit down and snapped back with another doubling of his power. Shiva cried out again, although her own face began to turn angry and focused. Now, the barrier began to quiver. Slowly and surely…Leviathan felt himself pushing it back, beginning to force it from Shiva's mind. On doing this, however, the controller grew angry. Shiva's own face grew hard and fierce…and lashed back at Leviathan's mind with renewed vigor.

The sea serpent was shocked. He gave out a cry and snapped back, nearly being pushed free of Shiva's mind. As it was…he soon found himself pushed back into his old position. Yet he managed to get ahold of himself just in time. Whoever this controller was…he was strong. Far stronger than any conventional esper. Pain flew through his head, and emotions of hostility began to come through him. But Leviathan wasn't done. He held himself where he was, and pushed back just as strong. Then, he began to increase the power slowly. As he did, he felt himself start to sweat and strain. His teeth began to hurt. But still, he pushed back and grew in power.

Shiva winced and began to emit small noises. She grit her own teeth and the lines on her neck began to appear. Leviathan soon sensed slowly increasing resistance. That made his head burn and ache. But still he increased the power. He had only hit half of his total. Getting angry, the controller pushed back on Leviathan in bursts of strength, trying to push him out. It hurt each time, and he winced and cried out with each one. The thing was aggressively snapping through Shiva to attack Leviathan's own brain. But the sea esper only grew angrier. He would not let himself be stopped. He would not let this alien win. He continued to increase his strength, going to sixfold and sevenfold. Shiva pushed back hard, and violently with successive strikes. But it wasn't good enough. Slowly…her force began to be pushed back.

The two continued to strain and struggle. The veins began to bulge out of either's head. Their faces turned red, and they both began to emit sounds of grunting and straining. Their eyes began to bulge as they focused all of their power at one another. Leviathan felt himself getting tired. His brain began to ache. It felt like he was grinding his skull into a rock, and the rock was grinding back. But still…he pushed it up. He went to eight-fold…nine-fold… The controller slowly began to be pushed out from Shiva's head. Soon, half of her consciousness was clear. But as he pushed…the force pushed back more angrily. It was like pushing water into a piston, building up more pressure. Her eyes blazed hatefully. Their red light burned more strongly. She sneered and began to foam at the mouth. Her whole body was wracked as she struggled harder than ever to break free. The telekinetic espers began to strain as well. Finally…Leviathan brought it up to tenfold. But as he did…he was only able to push the consciousness a bit more before it stopped. It would back up no more. It struggled to fight, but it was holding. Leviathan sneered. His head felt like it was burning now, but he tried to put more into it. Yet still, it wouldn't move. The consciousness refused to be pushed out of Shiva any further.

In a ragged gasp, Leviathan broke just enough focus to call to the others.

"More…"

The group members paused, but then did as commanded. Immediately, they began to strain as well. Their own faces grew tight and started to sweat. Slowly, more power began to flow into Leviathan. He pushed with it, straining himself more and more to put his own strength into it. Slowly, he began to push the force back. But it was fighting back again. It angrily pushed back, struggling to not get out. Saliva dripped from Shiva's mouth. Her eyes blazed and began to turn bloodshot. She sneered and began to nearly hiss.

"More!"

The espers grit their teeth and began to sweat as well. Leviathan started to buckle, gagging and groaning. His teeth gnashed, and his brain burned. It only got worse. Like an angry devil, the force was fighting back savagely, beating against Leviathan for all he was worth. It was struggling to push him out again, and began to succeed… But then, Leviathan brought in more power. He forced it back, and again it grew angrier than before. As he pushed it, it only increased its force and resistance. It fought back harder and harder. It was like trying to push a stone through a mountain.

Blood began to drip from both noses of both people. Their pupils shrank, and their eyes popped more blood vessels. The espers began to falter and twist, spending their strength against this monstrous force. They were starting to bend. Leviathan felt their powers peak as they gave everything they could to him. They too began to grow dizzy. They nearly were passing out. Leviathan's brain burned. It felt like it was ready to explode out of his skull. Shiva's controller hissed and spat, continuing endlessly to fling itself on him, unlimited in strength and pushing violently. Leviathan couldn't withstand it. He had to try one more time… Quickly, he recoiled for a brief second, just long enough to gather all his power together. He inhaled sharply as bullets of salty sweat poured into his mouth…and then screamed.

"HA!"

Leviathan summoned all of their power together in one final blast. It was the strongest by far. He strained his own faculties to the limit. His brain felt like half of its neurons had popped. He felt as if it had just swollen and cracked his skull on all sides. He felt nauseous, dizzy, sick, and dazzled all at once as force too great for him to hold burst through his skull.

But as for Shiva…her head was violently snapped back. Blood rushed from her nose and her ears now. The controller gagged within her brain one last time before the power ripped it off of all of its handholds and shoved it from her mind. And now that it was out…it quickly dissipated and faded into nothing. Shiva's head recoiled for a moment…as her strained, agonized face slumped and turned normal, and her red eyes slowly faded back into their previous icy blue color. But then, the strain having been too much for her, she groaned once and passed out.

Leviathan himself only managed to see this before his own world turned fuzzy…and everything faded into blackness.

To be continued...