Chapter 14, More twists

"How can it be so goddamn cold in a desert?" Relm grunted, draping her worn robe tighter around her shoulders as the Falcon neared the ground.

"I'm sure there's somebody who can explain about the sunrays, sky and the planets' placements," Sabin commented with a faint smile, "but I don't bother."

"It's hot and cold, but it's home," Edgar said, sighing deeply with relief.

They had made it… now they only had to gain contact with Figaro castle. The night still shrouded them safely, even if morning now was approaching.

"The empire patrolled the desert for a while after the Floating Continent, trying to catch us," the king told the troop that once again had assembled on the deck, "but it was too hard work, and they soon understood that we weren't stupid enough to come up just like that."

"Then how will we reach the people of Figaro?" Cyan wondered just as a soft bump announced the landing.

"We'll just have to search a little. Like this…"

Edgar cupped his hands around his lips and let out a howl, imitating the hollow call of the Figaro desert wolf. As the sound died away, he held up his hand and slowly waved the fingers at a steady pace, signaling that he was counting seconds.

As about fifteen short moments had passed, the king once again howled. He repeated this a third time and they waited. Finally Edgar shook his head.

"Not here. We'll have to keep looking."

There was a groan.

"However," the king hurriedly added, smiling, "we might be able to find something to eat in this area."

"What, rocks and sand?" Celes dryly said, their situation taking its toll on everything gentle in her mind.

"No, cacti."

Silence.

"Hey, it's better than you might think, if you pick the right ones," Sabin finally defended his brother, "let us down, Setzer."

Without any real trust in the idea the gambler pulled a lever, which promptly released the gangway down to the ground.

"Light please," the prince said as he calmly walked down to the ocean of sand.

Shrugging off the hesitance Terra followed him, lighting a flame in her palm. On a silent agreement Setzer still kept the lights of the Falcon at a minimum even if they probably were out of the most hostile enemy territory. You never knew, after all. Attracting monster wasn't a nice thought either.

Gau and Clyde joined the search, Interceptor following his companion though even the giant dog was showing signs of exhaust.

Of course, sand wasn't the only thing in the desert, those who had visited Figaro castle already knew that. The "kingdom" – so to speak – was placed in a more humid area of the region, where several oasis's could be found and the underground streams keeping them alive allowed sturdy plants to grow.

No luck with any oasis right then and there, however Sabin quickly found a tall cactus with several branches stubbornly pointing at the night sky.

"This one looks good."

The "aerobics instructor" reached up and quickly twisted several of the big needles off the nearest, thick branch, just enough for him to be able to get a safe grip of it.

Clyde caught on and walked closer to the plant while brandishing his dagger. It took him a few moments to saw his way through the thick peel of the cactus, but as he penetrated the layer it got much easier and soon Sabin could break off the branch. He carefully handed the item to Gau, who hurried back to the Falcon while the two men took on another part of the cactus, in the light of Terra's magic.

When the three humans and the dog boarded the ship with the second part of the simple midnight snack they found that Setzer had managed to find a collection of dinner plates somewhere within the Falcon, along with a cutting board. Generous slices of the cactus was handed out to the Returners, and when smelling the sweet scent of the juicy pulp none could bear to protest anymore. Hungrily everyone dug in, eating the slices like they would do with watermelon. The taste of the cactus was not that far off either, though a little tangier.

Even Interceptor was too hungry and thirsty to bother about the fact that dogs don't eat fruit, gobbling down the cubes of cacti flesh that Clyde cut up for him.

"Well, that was weird," Setzer finally chuckled with a content sigh, pushing his plate away.

The branches had been big, but another trip down to the ground had been needed for all to be satisfied.

"I have a feeling this was not the strangest thing we'll have to do during this journey," Locke commented with a smile, unknowingly showing proof of excellent skills in making prophesies.

Standing up from the deck, the gambler looked down at his hands and tried to lick the worst juice off his fingers.

"I guess we could find some towels or something," Strago helpfully commented and stood as well, heading for the entrance of the ship's bowels.

"Good idea."

Setzer turned around and pushed the famous black lever by using the back of his hand. No use wasting time waiting.

"Where to, Edgar?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Try the southwest," the king said, "we never wanted to come too close to Narshe after that became occupied."

"Alright, here we go!"

The wheel was turned, albeit a bit clumsily since Setzer insisted on not getting cacti juice on it, thus using the sides and backs of his arms.

And they were off again, on the valiant search for a hidden castle.

Darkness filled the room, but Gogo didn't lie down on the sofa to sleep. He was sitting on the furniture, slumping with his face resting in his hands.

Yes, he had his brother back and Kerr had actually not stumbled even once in the new setting. It seemed like his unstable state had been caused by the denied knowledge that he wasn't really Kefka, and as he accepted it he lost the unbalance of his twisted mind. He was on safer ground, and that was all well.

To once again talk to his brother and know that he was truly there again had been a relief beyond compare for the mimic. However… a lot of things that had been said was haunting his mind.

Yes, he had known of the horrors. Siren hadn't left him any doubt even if his Returner friends had been modest during their short time together. But they hadn't known much, it seemed. Luckily.

The only comfort was that Kerr's voice turned slightly monotone whenever he spoke of his crimes, and he didn't laugh even if he had said things like "funny, that time…". He didn't seem very comfortable admitting some things to his brother, strange as it would seem.

Perhaps it was the simple fact that he had forgotten how it was to have someone truly listening. Kerr couldn't babble on senselessly, somewhere knowing that the other man just wanted him to shut up. Gogo was watching him intently all the time. Maybe it made him apprehensive… after all he was also used to people already knowing what he had done. His brother forced him to explain his actions.

And then it got complicated.

Gogo only hoped that he could mask the worst abhorrence when he listened.

'Dear goddesses, what happened to you, brother?' he bitterly thought, alone in the silent darkness.

'Gogo…'

Siren spoke slowly, hesitant.

'Hmm?' he thought, distraught as he already was.

'Listen, I… I don't think you're going to like this.'

The mimic frowned.

'What is it?'

The esper was silent for a moment. Then she sighed.

'Alright, to get things straight I have no choice but to take a safety precaution I should have made earlier. Kef… Kerr is sound asleep, if you move quietly you can get my magicite without him waking up.'

Gogo stood instinctively, then he stopped.

'What's wrong?' he suspiciously said.

'I'm going to make an anchor in his mind,' Siren reluctantly said, 'then I can maybe paralyze him if he should snap again. Just to make sure.'

'You're not going to hurt him, are you?' Gogo accused, absolutely not sure if he liked the sound of the idea.

She sighed and mentally shook her head.

'As much as I want to, my powers aren't destructive. I am a mind esper.'

'And that cannot cause harm?'

She was silent for another few moments.

'Gogo, it's not just that,' she finally said.

He frowned.

'Then what?'

She bit her lower lip.

'Alright, this is the part you really won't like.'

Out of habit she took in a deep breath to calm.

'I am a mind esper, as I said. From here I can't make a good judgment, but I'm not blind either. As you noticed I was silent after Kerr collapsed earlier.'

Gogo tried to remember. Yes, that was true. But he hadn't been thinking about it, becoming too absorbed in his brother's words.

'What is it?' he asked, worriedly.

Siren clenched her teeth.

'I never took a closer look earlier, but it screamed at me when he had the breakdown. To make sure my magicite will have to touch him, but… Gogo, I don't think his madness is natural.'

The mimic blinked, staring in the direction of the magicite. It was too dark for him to see it properly, but there was a tiny, nervous glow coming from the floor under the closet.

'What are you saying?' he demanded, much harsher than he had planned.

'It hasn't grown from his mind only,' Siren grimly clarified, 'it might have started there but I can see that something is wrong. There's something coaxing his insanity.'