(Man, I'm flakey! Barely a day after I decide to leave this story on hiatus, and I suddenly get my enthusiasm back! Oh well, temperamental authors. Anyway, the updates are going to be a little farther apart because I've started another story and am going to be working on that the same time as this.)

Chapter 11

"Uuooo, uuooo, uo, uo, uuoooo!"

"Gau, if you need a bathroom break, just say so." Sabin called over his shoulder as he and Cyan concentrated on steering the Sub-Mariner.

"No, no! Gau found opening!" The teen pointed at the radar screen. Setzer came over and looked at the panel.

"He's right." He said. "To the left, the tunnel curves upward. It may lead to one of those caverns you guys came across before."

"Alright then, let's go for it." Said Sabin. "Gau, guide us in."

The others all felt the Sub–Mariner tilt upwards. Their relief that they weren't going to break down in the water was overshadowed by the prospect of another surprise waiting for them up top.

Breaking through the water's surface, the Sub-Mariner's propellers pushed it up the flat rock slope until it was halfway out of the water. Edgar shut down the engines and, one by one, everyone climbed out of the top hatch.

Once on solid ground, the group took a look at their surroundings. The cavern they were in was massive. They could see several tunnels branching out in different directions. Mog ran a paw over the wall of one of the tunnels.

"Kupo! I don't think these tunnels are natural." He said.

"How would you know?" Asked Locke. Mog's pom-pom shook with indignation.

"You may think you're an expert on the underground, treasure boy, but I was born and raised in tunnels! Kupo! If these tunnels were natural, then the grains would run in a horizontal line. These are curved, as if the walls were bored through."

On closer inspection, the group discovered that the other tunnels had the same characteristics Mog had described.

"Well then, it looks like we may have found the place we've been looking for." Said Sabin. He looked around at all the different tunnels. "Question is, which direction do we go?"

"Oh, I know what they're going to say." Strago muttered to himself.

"Well, it seems we have only one course of action." Said Edgar.

"Here it comes."

"People, we're splitting up."

"Why do we always have to separate!" Strago threw his hands into the air. "Haven't you people ever heard of safety in numbers!"

"Oh relax, you old geezer! I'll protect you." Relm said, with her hands on her hips.

The group split into three teams, which would spread out and explore a different part of the cavern. If they found anything, they were to come back and regroup with the others.

Gau, Strago, Relm, Mog and Umaro made up one group. Edgar, Sabin, Cyan and Setzer made up the second. This left Locke, Celes, Terra and Gogo as the third.

'How come Locke gets to go with the ladies?' Edgar thought to himself as his team took off down one of the tunnels.

"See you guys later." Sabin called out to the others.

"Don't forget where we're parked." Setzer added.

(Scene Change)

As Terra and her group ventured deeper into the cavern, it began to grow darker. Fortunately, Locke always carried material for a torch. He held it up high so that they could see where they were going.

"Say we come across these mages." Said Terra. "What are we going to say to them?"

"I think we should start with telling them how we exterminated those monsters they sent." Said Celes. "An early show of strength helps wonders in negotiations." Celes had the mask under her helmet up, but her eyes gave away the slight smirk on her face.

"I think you may have negotiations confused with occupation." Gogo commented. "Besides, I believe it would be wrong to assume that all the mages share the same ideals as this Cerro. We should best deal with the situation as it comes."

"Sounds good to me." Said Locke.

Celes gave a small shrug. 'Fine. If you want to take advice from someone we found living inside a giant sandworm.' She thought to herself.

They kept walking for, what seemed like, an hour. Then, the light from Locke's torch finally showed up something interesting. The tunnel had come to a dead end, but on the wall in front of them were dozens of carvings. No pictures that they could make out, but plenty of patterns such as spirals and wavy lines.

"What do you think this is?" Asked Terra.

"Possibly some kind of old language." Answered Gogo. "It would stand to reason that the mages of old had their own vocabulary. Where else would the incantations for our spells have come from?"

Locke's eyes followed the lines and patterns. He noticed that they didn't all flow in the same direction, but rather conjugated into one place. That one place was a small circle. Now Locke knew a door mechanism when he saw one. He grinned and turned to his companions.

"Stand back, girls… and Gogo." He placed his hand on the circle and pushed… and nothing happened. Still valiantly keeping his grin up, he pushed harder. Still nothing.

Terra and Gogo stood blinking as Locke placed his other hand on the wall, and then threw his shoulder to it. Celes had her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. Finally she grabbed the back of Locke's jacket and pulled him away from the wall.

"Locke, do you honestly think, with all their power, the old mages would make the entrance to their home so easy to – Whoa!" Celes had put her hand against the wall to lean against, when the carvings suddenly lit up with a blue glow. Celes pulled her hand away and the glow disappeared.

Everyone stared at the wall for a few seconds, and then Terra slapped her palm with her fist.

"Of course. It must be activated by magic. That way, only the mages get in. Celes' infusion must be awakening it."

"Indeed. Celes, place your hand on the circle and try holding it there." Said Gogo.

Celes ignored the triumphant smile on Locke's face and put her hand against the stone. The carvings lit up again but, this time, they started to move across the wall. Everyone stood transfixed as they spun and merged together, until they finally formed an image.

An image of a face, pulling it's lower eyelid down and sticking it's tongue out at them.

"Well, that can't be good." Said Celes.

Just then, everyone screamed as the floor opened up beneath them and they fell into the darkness below.

(Scene Change)

Setzer yawned loudly as he followed his group through the tunnel they'd chosen.

"What time is it?" He asked.

Edgar pulled out a pocket watch.

"Twelve O' clock." He said, though he had no idea whether it was midnight or midday. "That means we've been walking for about an hour and a half."

"It certainly feels like longer" Said Cyan. Having nothing to stare at but dark tunnel walls was beginning to get boring, even for him. Edgar had managed to fashion a torch from some bits and pieces in his pockets, (Cyan often wondered how he was able to conceal so much on his person) but it did little to dispel the gloom.

"Yeah, journeys are always a lot more interesting when there are a few monsters to fight along the way." Sabin put his hands behind his head as he walked.

Suddenly, a high pitched, inhuman screech out through the tunnel, causing everyone to freeze.

"Brother, you really have to start thinking before you speak." Said Edgar.

Before the echoes of the sound had even died down, a second noise sounded out. This one caused everyone's ears to prick up.

"That was a human." Said Cyan.

"A female human." Said Edgar.

"Come on. It 's just ahead of us." Sabin took off, running down the tunnel, with the others close behind.

The four men rounded a corner to find that the tunnel opened up into another cavern. This one wasn't as big as the first, and it didn't have a lake in it. What it did have was a swarm of toecutters, and a young woman who looked like she was about to become their meal.

Sabin didn't waste any time. He instantly charged the mantis-like creatures, yelling as he did so.

"Hey, Bug-Boys! Try picking on someone your own size!"

Several of the monsters turned at the sound of Sabin's voice and began to converge on him. Reaching to his belt, Sabin unhooked his deadly tiger fangs. Slipping them over his knuckles, he met the toecutters' onslaught. Moving with surprising speed and grace, for a man of his build, Sabin slashed through the creatures as they came at him.

Some had not gone after Sabin, but continued their assault on the young woman. These however, found themselves shot down by a hail of arrows. The maiden looked up from the fallen monsters to see a man, with a very strange hat, hefting an even stranger looking crossbow over his shoulder.

Edgar took his cap off and bowed to the woman.

"Greetings, my lady. King Edgar Roni Figaro the First, at your service. Permit me to lend my assistance at this – Hey!"

Edgar was yanked back, by his cape.

"Save the introduction, Romeo! We still got a bug problem to deal with!" Setzer flung some of his cards at the monsters. Cyan swung his aura blade with practiced skill, dispatching a monster with every strike.

Unfortunately, more toecutters were arriving from holes high up in the cavern wall. The four Returners regrouped and placed themselves in front of the young woman.

"If anyone has any ideas, now would be a good time to speak up." Said Setzer.

"Sir Sabin, if memory serves, yonder bug monsters have a great weakness to fire."

"Say no more, Cyan. Everybody stand back."

Sabin placed his arms in front of him, elbows bent, wrists crossing. His eyes locked on the swarming creatures and he began to chant softly. Suddenly a red aura surrounded his body. He pulled his arms down to his sides and screamed,

"Fire Dance!"

Several blazing figures seemed to leap out of Sabin's body. They raced along the ground and through the air, hitting the toecutters with spirals of flames. Those that weren't struck down turned and ran back to their nest. Soon the burning figures faded and there wasn't a monster left in sight.

Sabin exhaled slowly, and then turned to the others with a grin.

"Do I know how to heat things up or what?"

Edgar, Setzer and Cyan just looked at him with narrowed eyes. The three of them were then suddenly knocked aside as the young woman ran up to Sabin and grabbed the front of his shirt.

"How did you do that! How are you able to use magic! And I've never heard of that spell before! What was that!" Her long white hair shook as she questioned Sabin.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Sabin put his hands up defensively. "That wasn't magic. That was a blitz." He noted the confused look in the girl's dark blue eyes, and explained. "It's an attack that uses ki. My master, Duncan, taught it to me."

The girl stepped back and took a proper look at her rescuers. She took in their clothes and weapons, as well as the fighting techniques she'd just seen.

"You guys aren't from around here, are you?"