Things on the Island were going poorly, to say the least. True, the Emperor was dead - Kefka had sent his lifeless husk spiralling off of the Island with a laugh, and even now Edgar could hear that malevolent cackle in the distance. True, they'd found Shadow alive and well, but the statues of the Goddesses had shifted from their careful alignment and the world was reacting poorly to that. Up ahead, Terra and Celes were ploughing their way though a field of debris and shattered rock, desperately trying to reach the edge of the continent. Behind them, somewhere, Shadow was fighting a desperate rearguard, the twisted hordes of Kefka's island no doubt trying to overwhelm the mercenary and return him to their master.
Edgar risked another look over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of midnight-blue cloth flowing behind a nightmare creature. The thing turned to face Shadow and, as it did, a thick-bladed dagger punched into its throat. The beast fell, a guttural cry echoing across the island, as Shadow caught up to the King.
"What are you waiting for?" he growled as he shoved Edgar roughly, "Get going, you fool. You've got too much to take care of down there to die up here."
Edgar grabbed Shadow's arm and pulled the man after him. "I do," he croaked, his voice hoarse from shouting, "But I'm not going to let anyone die up here alone, Shadow."
The mercenary shot a venomous glare at Edgar, as though the King were denying him something and, after a moment, nodded and followed after Terra and Celes. Six hundred more paces and they'd be at the point where Setzer should have the Blackjack waiting for them, barring any further interference by the Imperial Air Force.
Edgar checked the lock on his crossbow and, in the instant his eyes were off of the terrain ahead of him, was knocked off of his feet. A great, slavering beast – part dog, part reptile – crouched over him, its claws digging through the scales of his armour and thick ropes of slobber soaking his face. Edgar pulled the trigger of his crossbow and cursed as the bolts skidded over the creature's hide. He shouted as the beast leaned forward, its mouth open and rows of blackened, spear-sharp teeth gleaming wetly. As the horrible maw closed over Edgar's helmet, the beast suddenly whimpered and rolled off of him, a wet hole smoking in it's side. Celes flashed Edgar a small smile as he got to his feet and nodded his thanks. "Where's Terra?" he rasped.
Celes motioned toward the eastern edge of the Island with her sword and looked back to where Shadow was locking grips with a half-crazed man covered in bolts of red silk. "Go," she said as she lowered the visor of her helmet and headed toward Shadow and the man. "Make sure Terra's alright, we'll catch up."
Edgar slung his crossbow, nodded his thanks to Celes again and sprinted eastward. As he slid down a scree slope into a valley, he saw Terra crouching near a gap in the Island. Pulling off his helmet, he scanned the crest of the surrounding hills and nodded to himself. "We shou-"
Terra whipped around and stood, her eyes blazing with purple fire and her hands crackling with blue energy. Edgar raised his hands and defensively and took a step back. A moment passed as Terra relaxed slightly, then cast a quick glance to the slope Edgar had descended. "Where are Celes and Shadow?" She asked, her voice quiet yet still able to be heard over the turmoil surrounding them.
Edgar motioned to the slope behind him. "They should be here any minute now. Just taking care of one of Kefka's friends."
Terra nodded and looked down through the hole in the Island. Edgar peered over the edge and saw the Blackjack hanging no more than thirty feet below them, a pair of booms supporting a large net being manoeuvred to catch them when they leapt from the Island. Edgar looked back to the hill and smiled. "There's Celes. Shadow should be..."
Celes came skidding down the scree slope, her armour bloodied and cape smoldering, and pulled off her helmet as she ran toward Edgar and Terra. "Where's Shadow?" she asked breathlessly.
Terra shot Edgar glance halfway between worry and resignation. "I thought he was with you," she said, "Edgar said that you two were dealing with-" A sudden explosion shook the Island and flames shot into the sky from the northern shore. A moment later, Shadow crawled over the edge of the cliff and tumbled down to valley floor, his clothing smoldering and sheeted with blood. Terra rushed forward and knealt beside him, muttering quietly as a wave of green light spread over Shadow's mauled body.
Getting to his feet, Shadow whispered something to Terra and staggered to the edge of gap in the Island. Looking at Edgar, the mercenary chuckled. "You're still here. I... Thank you."
Edgar shook his head pointed to the net waiting below them. Sabin, Cyan and Locke were waiting at the gunwale, looking expectantly at the gap. Edgar turned to Celes and Terra, then bowed and gestured to the hole. "Ladies first," he croaked, a grin splitting his face.
Celes grinned and nodded. "How generous," she said as she hurled herself over the edge and landed squarely in the net. Terra went next, smiling and shaking her head incredulously at Edgar's gesture. "You're mad, you know that?" she asked as she watched Celes scramble over the gunwale.
"Of course I do, m'Lady, but it wouldn't-" The rest of Edgar's reply was cut off as another explosion shook the Island and a section of shoreline further east sloughed off and crashed to the ocean below. He looked at Terra and put his hand on her arm. "Go," he whispered, and watched as she leapt over the edge to land on the netting below.
Shadow motioned to Edgar with his head. "Go," he said as another segment of the Island fell away and the hill to the south sagged in on itself. "There's not much time before this place comes completely apart."
"Exactly," said Edgar as he grabbed Shadow and pulled him to the edge. "Which means you go first and get no ideas of fancy heroics, friend."
Before he launched himself toward the waiting net, Shadow faced Edgar and nodded curtly. "Thanks," he said as he stepped into space and dropped toward the waiting net.
Another moment passed as Shadow scrabbled across the netting and another explosion shook the Island. Edgar set his helmet on his head, took a breath and leapt into the hole as the entire eastern shore began to crumble. He watched in horror as the Blackjack dove and slewed to starboard, desperately trying to avoid the debris and pulling the net away from Edgar as he fell to the ocean below. He passed by the deck of the Blackjack and saw Sabin watching him and, in a moment, he was past, hurtling downward. The force of the fall pushed the breath from his and lungs and he closed his eyes, expecting the impact at any moment.
Instead, something slammed into him from his side, pulling him along and lifting him. Opening his eyes, he saw the Blackjack growing larger and a pair of hands glowing with an inner light, turned his head and looked into Terra's eyes. "We're almost there," she said, her quiet voice somehow reaching him despite the ringing in his helmet as the air rushed past them.
Edgar tried to shout above the wind and the sound of the Island crumbling above them, but could hardly hear himself over the din.
Terra shook her head as she angled toward the deck of the Blackjack. "When we land." Again, her voice came to him as though she were whispering beside him, not speaking over the sound of crumbling rocks, explosions and the howling wind. He nodded and watched as the deck of the ship loomed ever closer.
As they neared, another explosion rocked the Island above them and the Blackjack dove again to avoid the falling debris. The ship picked up speed as it neared the South Figaro coast when an Imperial fighter, it's starboard engine pod on fire, ploughed into the Blackjack, splitting the ship in half. Guy-wires snapped as flames sped across the hull and set off the fuel reservoirs. Setzer was desperately struggling with the controls as the bow sagged and came away from the flotation balloon. The rest of the Blackjack spun off toward the east as the bow slammed into the coast below. Edgar cried out as he saw Sabin fly clear of the bow and plunge into the sea. Terra made for the coast as another explosion sent debris showering down on them, knocking Edgar out of her arms and into the sea below.
The last thing Edgar saw before he struck the churning waves below was an Imperial fighter tumbling out of control toward Terra.