Act Seventeen: We Are Enough

The four of them slowly approached Edge, cautiously optimistic that Rubicante didn't seem like the type of guy to come back for a sneak attack – the fact that he had let Edge go was surprising, but he had seemed genuine in his sentiment to want a fair fight.

Rosa kneeled down beside Edge's still body, and he let out another pitiful moan.

"Are you all right?" Cecil asked, hesitantly leaning over him. Edge opened one gray-blue eye slowly, and sneered.

"I lost, and he got away. Of course I'm not all right!"

"We came to find Rubicante too," Rydia said. "And the crystals he holds. Will you help us find him again?" Edge let out a bitter laugh and shook his head.

"Rubicante's mine! You stay out of this! I'm going to put an end to him with...with my own hands!" To emphasize his point, Edge tried making a fist, but could barely curl his fingers before cringing in pain and giving up. The whole time he ranted, he still had not moved an inch from where he lay flattened on the ground.

Kain rolled his eyes. "Your enemy is an elemental archfiend, Your Highness."

Cecil piled on, even though he really didn't want to irritate their only potential tour guide for the Tower of Babil's secret entrance. "You've seen his strength for yourself."

Edge laughed weakly. "Heh...Don't mistake me for some pampered prince. The Eblanese royal family is heir to the secrets of the ninja masters of old. I don't need help from lesser men!"

Rydia stomped her foot dangerously close to Edge's face. "Enough! I can't watch another person go off to die. First Tellah and Yang... And then Cid, too... All of them... all of them-!" The tears came fast and furious, and she began to bawl, her cries echoing over and over again in the cavern.

Edge opened his other eye and focused his gaze on Rydia. "H-hey, I didn't...I mean..."

"Rydia..." Rosa sighed and rested her hand on Rydia's leg, the only part of her she could reach while she was sitting on the ground. "Come now, dear…"

Cecil tried one more time to talk sense into Edge before they had to take a decidedly less peaceful route of convincing him. "Rubicante is the strongest of the four archfiends. We have fought the other three, and can safely say we have yet to encounter power like his. Whether we can even hope to defeat him, I cannot say. But we have no choice but to try, together. We must take back the crystals he holds!"

But Edge had completely tuned Cecil out. He was still staring at Rydia (upside down), watching the tears running down her curve of her ivory cheek. One of them splashed onto his forehead. He let out a long, reluctant sigh. "It doesn't look like I have much choice. I can't leave a pretty girl crying. Let's do this together, then - just this once." However, he still didn't move. Or rather, he couldn't.

"Hmph," Kain snorted. "Too weak to stand, and still as arrogant as could be. It's nigh on comical. Rosa, do you think you could...?"

Rosa nodded and placed her hand on Edge's chest. "Cura!"

A bright green light entered Edge's body, spreading throughout his limbs and fading gently into his clothing. Edge sat straight up like a spring released, taking Rosa's hand in his and pressing his lips to her fingers. "Thank you, my dear! You're not so rough on the eyes yourself! Ohhh, and no ring…even better."

Rosa turned white as a sheet, and Cecil briefly wondered if the universe would strip him of Paladin-hood if he planted his foot directly in the back of Prince Edge's head. Repeatedly.

Edge scooped up his daggers and hopped up to his feet, spinning the blades in his fingers before sliding them into the holsters hanging from his sash. "Right, then! Time for us to break into the tower, now that we're all fast friends!"

Rydia wiped her tears away, shaking her head. "That was an awfully fast recovery."

Edge flounced ahead of them, suddenly not a care in the world, moving so fast that even Kain struggled to keep up with his long legs. If he was this energetic after having his rear served to him in a fight, no one could imagine what he was like on a normal day.

"So how did you guys find your way down here, anyway? I thought I did a pretty good job of hiding everyone!"

"It's a long story," Cecil said. "One better suited for a fire and a lot of drink."

"Fine by me," Edge shrugged. "It's going to have to be your place, though. Mine is kind of trashed at the moment." Cecil didn't know how to respond. He flashed back to the tattered banner in the Eblan ruins, and looked down.

"That's your cue for you to tell me where your place is," Edge pressed, but secretly enjoying watching Cecil squirm. He could already tell this guy was way too damn serious.

"Cecil, Rosa and I are from Baron," Kain said through clenched teeth, sparing Cecil the indignity of having to answer to this…upstart.

"And I am from Mist," Rydia added.

"Ohohoho you guys are even more screwed than I am, eh?" Edge laughed. "Don't worry, I won't ask any more questions. I heard all about what happens when you mess with Baron." Kain reached for his weapon, and Cecil grabbed his wrist, shaking his head. Rosa and Rydia exchanged worried glances.

Turning a curve in the tunnel, they were presented with a dead end. Edge started rolling his shoulders and cracking his knuckles. "This is it!"

"Um…how do we get into the tower?" Cecil questioned.

"Have you already forgotten you are with a ninja? Watch and learn!" Edge folded his hands together, just like he had when casting his fire spell, and a seven by three foot portion of the cave wall in front of him began to flicker, revealing the familiar sight of one of the Tower of Babil's rooms. Edge dropped his hands, and the wall turned back into a cave. "It's a class of Ninjitsu magic that casts illusions, but I've also disabled the barrier that would have kept out anyone who accidentally stumbled into it. Just waltz through…" He leapt through the wall and disappeared, and they could hear a muffled voice on the other side. "…Like this!"

Cecil paused before walking through; trying to convince his brain that it was ok to walk directly into a wall. Taking a hesitating step forward, he found himself next to Edge in the eerily quiet tower. Moments later, Kain walked through, and then Rosa and Rydia, holding hands.

They were in a long hallway that only went one direction. Edge pushed forward and waved his hand. "Follow me…I'll take point. I've snuck in here dozens of times for fun."

"Do you know where you are going?" Rosa asked.

"Sure, you're looking for a room that can house seven crystals, right?" Edge winked. "There's a chamber a few floors above that I'm thinking is perfect for such a thing. I've taken a lot of gi-" He paused when he saw Rydia and Rosa's eyes narrow, "-gifted ninja students there for practice!"

"The gods save us," Kain muttered under his breath. "Cecil, when can we get rid of this guy?"

"He'll get bored with us soon, I'm sure," Cecil tried to assure him.

With each subsequent floor they climbed, there were no enemies, no alarm systems, and no sign of any life except for their own feet upon the tiled floor. Cecil was beginning to suspect that they had wandered into yet another trap.

When they reached a floor with the same transporter they had seen in the underworld portion of the tower, Cecil froze. Edge looked back at him. "Why'd you stop?"

"I think that's what Rubicante's been using to travel between the underworld and the overworld," Cecil explained. "The crystals must be close."

"No kidding?" Edge sauntered over to the middle of the transporter, jumped up and down a few times, and gave it a violent kick when nothing happened. "It's never worked the entire time I've been coming here."

Suddenly, the four blue orbs around the transporter began to pulse, and a shining pillar of light burst up from the center of it into the ceiling.

"Ack!" Edge cried, stumbling backward. "Is Rubicante coming home?!"

But it wasn't Rubicante that appeared when the light dissolved. It was an elderly man with a light silver beard and exquisitely combed hair, dressed in beautiful violet robes that were studded in jewels, a massive golden crown set upon his head with some of the biggest rubies Cecil had ever seen. Behind him, a woman who looked to be about the advanced same age was standing behind him, her serene smile revealing soft lines by her eyes and lips. She had deep red hair that matched the color of the rubies in the man's crown, pulled back into an elegant twist with a silver and sapphire tiara. Her gown was layers of deep blue silk, and a golden fur wrap was twisted around her neck and shoulders.

Edge froze in place, and Cecil, Kain, Rosa and Rydia looked at each other. Did he know these people?

The man stepped forward, holding his hand out. "Edge…"

"Dad?" Edge asked weakly. "…Mom?"

"Heavens, I thought they were dead…" Rydia trailed off. "Isn't that what the ninja told us…?"

"Oh thank goodness, you're all right!" The woman exclaimed, and Edge cast aside his hesitation, running to her and practically knocking her over as he threw his arms around her neck, burying his face in her furs.

"And you as well! Oh, Mom!"

Cecil felt something cold gnawing at his stomach. This…didn't feel right. He couldn't put it into words, but he felt like he had experienced an "off" presence like this fairly recently.

"Come, Edge!" the Queen of Eblan said, stroking his hair back gingerly as he nuzzled into her.

"Yes, come with us…" The King smiled.

"With you?" Edge asked eagerly. "Where? I really need to take you to the others…the people will be so happy to see you!"

Cecil stared pointedly as the Queen continued to stroke Edge's hair, but noticed something odd. Her nails, painted a light purple color, seemed to be growing longer and longer, and sharpening to a point that glimmered from the light of the glowing transporter.

"Edge…" Cecil stepped forward. "Edge…look out…!"

"…To Hell!" His mother shrieked, and made her move, digging her nails into her unsuspecting son's back.

"AHHHH!" Edge cried, falling to his knees as her nails retracted, leaving a stain of red that quickly spread across his back. He cringed as he looked up at her. "Mom!"

Both she and the King started laughing manically as the transformations started to take place. The Queen's limbs began to meld into her torso, her skin turning purple and scaly with yellow spikes. Her body took on one long shape, like a snake, and she curled herself into a spring, bouncing up and down off her tail as she glowered over Edge. Her golden fur wrap transformed into wings on both sides of her neck, and long, spiraling pink and green horns emerged from her temples. As she laughed, a forked tongue flicked spittle out of her mouth.

The King's skin began to mutate into blue and black fur, his limbs bursting out of his clothing as he ballooned to three times his normal size. A spiked, reptilian tail swung free from what remained of his tattered robes, and his face contorted into a half-bird, half-lion hybrid, reminiscent of a gargoyle. Purple and black bat wings exploded from his shoulder blades, flapping erratically.

All Edge could do was stare in horror, even when the King lashed out with a claw the size of a bear's and knocked Edge over, ripping open the exposed flesh of his arm.

"Edge!" Kain cried, and leapt to him, throwing him over his shoulders and dashing back out of the way just as the King and Queen mounted another attack. Kain set Edge down, who was still stunned.

"You wish for death?" The King growled. "Allow me to speed all of you on your way!"

"Edge, what do you want us to do?" Rosa cried as she kneeled down next to him and healed his wounds. "Are these really your parents?!"

"Y-Y-Yes!" Edge sniveled, not able to take his eyes off of them, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. "They have their eyes…my mom and dad's eyes!"

"Look out!" Cecil cried, sliding in front of Rosa and Edge as the Queen stretched out like rubber and swung out her tail to strike. She hit Cecil's shield, and the impact nearly knocked him over.

Rydia stood in the rear, too disgusted to be able to look the monsters in the face. She had to buy them some time to figure out what happened…but how? At last, the idea came to her. She closed her eyes, urgently calling upon Shiva, goddess of ice.

A freezing-cold torrent of wind blew through the room, and crystalline snowflakes began to pour from the sky. As they drifted downward, they began to gather and swirl in front of Rydia, eventually coming together in a ball of light and giving birth to a lithe ice fairy, clothed in ice with light blue skin and spiky dark blue hair. The fairy began to dance among the snowflakes, unfolding a fan in her hand blowing a kiss from behind it. The King and Queen became instantly incased in ice, and the fairy laughed melodically at her handiwork and disappeared.

For those few moments, there was respite. Edge climbed back to his feet and withdrew his daggers, sweat trickling down his temple. "What am I supposed to do…I can't kill them!" He turned to Kain. "And neither can you!"

Kain threw up his hands. "I was only interested in saving your pompous ass, which I did."

"Stop it!" Rosa glared. "We have to…Oh no."

The ice began to crack, and suddenly exploded, the shards flying into the air and raining down upon them like twinkling diamonds. The King and Queen hissed in rage, crossing the transporter to slither toward them once more.

"Stop!" Edge cried, running out to meet them before he ended up luring them to the others. He was the one they wanted, right? He crossed his arms over his face as they rained blows upon him again, but he didn't back away. "What happened to you!? Mom, Dad…it's me…your son!" He cowered, closing his eyes as he anticipated another strike.

The King dropped his claw mid-strike, shaking his head repeatedly and growling under his breath. The Queen shrieked and slithered backwards, her neck wings folding in on themselves. Edge, thinking he would have been smacked against a wall by now, slowly opened his eyes. The King and Queen looked at each other, letting out pathetic yowls.

"Edge…" The King spoke, "Hear me while I can yet speak. We are no longer human. What we are…has no right to live."

"What!?" Edge cried. "Wait a minute…"

"Forgive us, Edge," The Queen said, back to her soft voice. Edge shook his head, blinking away his tears.

"We must depart now…before the madness takes us again. I need you to serve Eblan well, my son."

"No!" Edge screamed, his eyes clenched shut as he tossed aside his daggers and ran to embrace them. "Don't go!"

"Farewell, Edge," The Queen whimpered, a single human tear rolling down her cheek.

The King and Queen looked at each other sadly, and closing their eyes, simultaneously burst into glittering gray dust. Stumbling forward from trying to embrace nothingness, Edge fell to his knees and sobbed as the dust gently drifted down into his hair and got caught in the tear trails on his cheeks.

"Please don't go!" Edge bowed so low to the floor that his nose touched it, deferring to any god out there that could possibly have mercy on an insignificant orphan prince. "I still need you both…"

"Such cruelty…" Rosa covered her mouth. "This is beyond inhumane."

The transporter glowed blue again, and Rubicante made an appearance. Swishing his cape behind him, he gazed upon Edge, pity etched into his gnarled features. Edge looked up at him, swiping away his tears.

"Rubicante…you bastard…For this…you will pay dearly!"

"Now hold on, Your Highness," Rubicante said, shaking his head. "It was Lugae who made chimerae of your parents. I shared no hand in his perversities. They shame me, as they grieve you."

"Doctor Lugae…" Cecil growled. "Of course."

"I don't know who the hell you're talking about, but don't speak of shame!" Edge snarled. "Now, prepare yourself!"

Rubicante made a tsking noise, ignoring the request. "I respect men like you. Men with…courage. But you are a slave to your emotions, and so will never know true strength. Such is the curse of Men."

Edge laughed, shaking his head. "You think our rage...a weakness? Then let me show you how wrong you are!"

Edge crossed his arms and closed his eyes, a crystal blue aura forming itself around his body. With an ear-piercing scream erupting from his lungs, a crashing wave of water burst from the right wall, slamming into Rubicante and making him stumble. Immediately after, a shower of lightning shot down from the ceiling, which Rubicante barely managed to shield himself from with his cape before it struck.

The aura faded and Edge growled, breathing heavily as he withdrew his daggers, pointing them toward Rubicante. Rubicante lowered his cape, and grinned, clapping his hands together.

"You are an interesting one indeed. Such powers, unleashed by anger alone! But they will not avail you. The frozen winds of hell's ninth circle could not penetrate this cloak of flame I wear. Come, I will heal your wounds. Face me at full strength!"

Rubicante waved his hand, and washed a Curaja spell over the entire party, the highest class of healing magic. Cecil turned to his companions.

"We have to help Edge."

"Of course!" Rosa nodded.

"I've got a Blizzaga spell with his name on it," Rydia hissed.

"Let's go," Kain said coolly. He leapt away to initiate an air strike. Cecil and Edge ran toward Rubicante to distract him from Kain's onslaught with their weapons, and Rosa and Rydia remained hidden to cast spells, keeping their backs to each other.

It quickly developed into one of the fiercest battles any of the five of them had fought. Rubicante was the pinnacle of all of his fellow archfiends' strengths. His attacks were as devastating as Scarmiglione's, his signature Inferno spell barely leaving Rosa seconds to heal the party before he initiated the would-be finishing blow. His defense was impenetrable thanks to his cloak of flame, like Cagnazzo's massive shell shield. And his speed was devastating, dodging attacks as adeptly as if he could manipulate the wind itself like Barbariccia. Cecil, Kain and Edge would attack from every angle, but Rubicante could twist his cape around him in seconds to fend off one attack, and back kick the poor bastard who tried to hit him from behind in the next heartbeat.

"They are getting destroyed out there," Rosa gasped for breath; exhausted from vigilantly stringing together high-level healing magic spells. She felt like she was about to pass out.

"Blizzaga!" When the men gave her an opening, Rydia summoned human-sized icicles that first crashed into Rubicante and then formed a crystalline lotus shape, exploding in a mess of ice and snow. Rubicante cursed and stumbled, wrapping himself tightly in his cloak. That bought them a few moments to regroup for a new strategy.

"Your ice is so effective as long as he is not shielded…" Rosa collapsed to the floor, holding her burning hot forehead. "…I just need to rest a moment…"

Rydia worriedly looked down at Rosa. "Do you need an Ether?" Rosa slumped over before she could reply.

"Huh!" Edge grunted, blocking a punch that came at him underneath the cloak right as Kain flew down from above, lance pointed. Rubicante peeked up and laughed, emerging from his cape and lifting it to create a barrier that made Kain bounce backward against his own momentum and crash into the floor in front of Rosa and Rydia.

"Kain!" Cecil cried. "Are you OK?" He spotted where Kain had crashed and saw Rosa collapsed next to him, but had to quickly pivot and block a Fira spell Rubicante tossed out.

"Rosa…" Kain scrambled to his feet and shook her shoulders, but all she could do was moan. "Rydia, I don't have any Ethers!"

"Cover me and I'll find one," Rydia said, and bent down to dig through her pouch. Kain pulled himself up into a defensive stance in front of them, hoping that Rubicante didn't notice them. If something were to come their way, he would only be able to really protect one of the girls with the way they were awkwardly positioned right now.

"Cecil! I have an idea!" Edge ran across the room, propelling himself off of a wall and tossing a few exploding ninja stars in Rubicante's direction to distract him. Rubicante growled as the stars struck his side and forehead, and wrapped himself back up in his cloak to hide and heal. He had started to do that more and more, which was a good sign, but the party wasn't able to land a punishing enough blow to send him over the edge. They just kept re-opening the same wounds Rubicante was healing.

"What is it?" Cecil asked, looking back again worriedly at Rosa. Rydia was bending over her and pouring a bottle of something into her mouth. Kain was standing guard, his narrowed eyes on Rubicante. Edge snapped his fingers in Cecil's face to get him back to paying attention to him.

"Have you ever heard of Twincast?"

"Huh?" Cecil blinked. "How do you know about Twincast?"

"So you've done it before?!"

"Well, I haven't, no," Cecil said. "A pair of twins I traveled with was training in it."

"Well, that is the literal interpretation of that kind of magic," Edge crossed his arms over his chest. "But did you know anyone can cast it?"

"What?!"

"Well, almost anyone," Edge scratched his head. "You need to have an intense bond with the person you are casting with, and it doesn't hurt your chances to have some decent magical ability between the two of you."

"So what are you proposing?" Cecil asked warily.

"That you marry me, of course," Edge smacked Cecil on the side of his head. "I want you to Twincast with me! I figure my Ninjitsu magic and your… whatever will make beautiful magic babies together."

"OK, fine," Cecil shook his head. He noticed Edge had casually skipped over the part about them not having much of a bond at all, let alone an intense bond. "Just…please stop using that analogy. What do we do?"

"I'm not sure, I've never gotten anyone to agree to do it with me before," Edge grinned. "Let's just both concentrate and see what happens. We need to stay perfectly in sync and vulnerable with each other – if one of us hesitates, the spell won't work and we'll be left wide-open."

"Rosa, are you OK now?" Rydia asked. Kain reached down and took Rosa's hand, hauling her back to her feet.

"I'm so sorry," Rosa shook her head. "I wish I were stronger…"

"Be on guard," Kain warned. "Rubicante is emerging from his cloak!"

Rubicante tossed his cloak back, laughing as the ninja stars Edge threw at him pushed their way out of his flesh and clattered to the floor, useless. He turned toward Cecil and Edge, preparing to conjure a fresh Inferno spell. Kain, Rosa and Rydia saw Cecil and Edge standing together, their eyes closed and their hands folded, totally oblivious to the impending danger. The very faintest of red auras was glowing around their bodies.

"RUN!" Rosa shouted, sure that they could hear her voice, but they didn't move. Kain leapt forward to take the hit with his shield, and Rosa reached her hand out after his departing form, calling his name.

The Inferno spell burst forth from Rubicante's hands, spiraling toward Cecil and Edge in a fiery rush. Kain made his landing in the spell's path and winced behind his shield with closed eyes, imagining the horrible pain he was about to experience and praying that Rosa could save him in time.

There was a piercing whistle, and flash of red light burst from between Cecil and Edge, whisking Inferno away like a child blowing out a birthday candle. The red light quickly expanded and filled the room, pouring from Cecil and Edge's hands. Kain opened one eye and looked around, feeling an incredible surge of power running through his veins. If Inferno didn't hit him, what had?

"What the…?" Rydia lifted her hands in disbelief. "I feel like I could bench press an airship!"

"Me too!" Rosa gasped. "Like I've limitless strength…!" She shrugged off her bow and pulled out an ice arrow, aiming for Rubicante's torso. The arrow shrieked through the air like a bullet and collided with Rubicante so hard that it sliced through his flesh and his cloak, smashing into the wall behind him. Rydia's jaw dropped as Rubicante howled and fell to his knees, clutching his stomach. Rosa stood there with her bow in hand, stunned. Kain took the opening and closed in, berating Rubicante with blows from his lance.

Cecil and Edge opened their eyes and looked at each other, both also feeling the incredible effects of the spell.

"I think we just Twincasted!" Edge grinned. "Shall we finish this?"

"Gladly!" Cecil unsheathed his sword and dove in after Kain. He figured there was time to analyze this more thoroughly later.

Now that they were no longer in any danger of Rubicante hiding under his cloak and getting healed by errant magic, Rydia summoned her Mist Dragon, catapulting herself onto its neck reaching her hand out to Rosa.

"Come on up! Let's get you a better view!" Rosa smiled and took Rydia's hand, pulling herself up onto the Mist Dragon's back. Firing off arrow after arrow, Rosa was able to attack from above thanks to the Eidolon's height while Rydia ordered the dragon to drown Rubicante in holy mist with a crack of her whip.

Rubicante finally collapsed forward onto the floor, laughing softly as black blood continued to ooze from his many wounds and soak up into the cloak of flame so much that it had the appearance of being dragged in tar. Yet more blood dribbled from his lips as he rasped his approval. "Most interesting...You combine your strengths to overcome foes stronger even than yourselves. You are fine warriors indeed. Lord Golbez himself will find you no easy opposition. I pray the day comes that we can fight each other again."

In a burst of flame that made Cecil, Kain and Edge jump backwards in surprise, Rubicante's body burned away, leaving a neat pile of ashes and just a scrap of his cloak.

Edge rested his right hand over his heart, bending to one knee and pressing his left hand in the ashes. Reaching up, he drew a smudge of ash over his forehead and closed his eyes. "Mother...Father...You can rest in peace now."

The Mist Dragon disappeared, and Rydia and Rosa jumped down to join the others. The red light had begun to fade from the room, and soon it was back to its normal, sterile self.

"Cecil, what happened?" Rosa blinked. "It was like you and Edge were dead to the world, and then we were suddenly filled with incredible strength!"

"We…well, we cast a Twincast spell," Cecil struggled to explain. "I don't know what though, exactly. When I saw Palom and Porom do it, theirs took a totally different form."

"Twincast will take different forms depending on whom the spell casters are," Edge finally spoke, standing back up and kicking Rubicante's ashes away with disgust. "This isn't an exact science, but two strong-willed people who are bonded will cast what is called a Bravery spell, where their internal strength is manifested into abundant physical strength for whoever they are with. Two people who have a spiritual bond, usually mages, will produce a Faith spell, elevating the wisdom and will of those around them for stronger magic. A powerful, mutually-protective friendship between two spell casters will result in Bubble, which doubles the stamina of everyone and keeps them going longer. There are a few other spells, like the ones twins can cast based on their blood bond, and those that are triggered by bonds of deep love and even deep fear, but I have never known anyone that cast them."

"That's…amazing," Rydia reluctantly admitted. She never thought someone like Edge could teach her as much as the King and Queen of the Eidolons, but here she was, learning something new about magic.

"We Ninjas have always studied the Twincast as part of the mastering of our arts, but…it's very rare to be successful at it unless you have a strong bond with your partner and one of them must have very powerful magical ability if the other person has none. Otherwise, both of them could have average abilities."

"Wait…" Cecil frowned. "You said all that before but you glossed over the "rare to be successful" part."

"Well, I didn't want to plant any doubt in your mind that we could do it," Edge grinned. "And it worked, right?"

"You could have both been killed, and Kain too!" Rosa huffed. "And then I would need to hunt down your ghost and kill you again, Edge!" Edge slid up to her and put an arm around her shoulders, blowing into her ear.

"Don't be jealous just because Cecil and I cast an awesome Bravery spell," he whispered. "I still think you're prettier than him."

"You cur!" Rosa hissed, and kicked him in the ankle with the high heel of her boot. Edge winced and thumbed his nose at her.

"I take it back…Cecil has way better hair."

Rydia leaned in toward Cecil, wondering to herself if Edge understood how truly close he was to being buried in this tower with Rubicante based on the death glare Cecil was making.

"Cecil…I think your Twincast experiment has revealed to us that we found a snake and not a prince."

Cecil's glare melted into confusion – but he then remembered the dream she had told him about, and his face drained of color.

"Your Lord Highness!"

Edge hopped away with his throbbing ankle and waved his hands excitedly. "I'm over here, Seneschal!"

Everyone turned to see who Edge was making a fuss over. An older gentleman in dark blue robes and a long stocking cap hanging from a mop of brown and gray hair was approaching from the rear, along with two of the ninjas that had "welcomed" them to the Cave of Eblan.

The presumed Seneschal raised a wooden staff and puffed out his chest. "We've come to aid you in your fight! Where is Rubicante? Lead us to him!"

Edge laughed and leaned in, pointing to his forehead where he had smashed the ashes. "Check this out! It's already done." Seneschal reached into his robes to pull out a pair of glasses, slipping them on. As he narrowed his eyes to see better, he jumped a bit and gasped.

"Oh! I should have expected no less of you." Cecil and Kain looked at each other. Weren't Edge's little foot soldiers telling them before that Edge had no prayer of surviving?

Edge surprised everyone by displaying just a sliver of humbleness. "I was not alone. I had the aid of these warriors as well." He held out his hand toward Cecil, Kain, Rosa and Rydia.

Seneschal nodded excitedly. "I see! So, these are the ones to whom we owe our thanks!"

Edge spun around to face Cecil. "So just who is this "Golbez" Rubicante was telling us we were gonna fight?"

Kain took exception to the word "we", raising his eyebrow. "He is a man gathering the Crystals in hopes of opening a way to the moon, and he is Rubicante's master."

Edge scratched his head. "He wants to go to...the moon? The moon, the one in the night sky?"

"A power is said to sleep there - one great enough to destroy the world," Cecil said. "He used Baron for his own bidding, planting a fake king on the throne and killing His Majesty that Kain and I had served. He also stole our air force that I used to lead, the Red Wings, so that he could use airships to acquire the crystals and take countless lives in the process." Rosa covered her mouth, trying to stifle a sob, thinking of Cid.

Edge was taken aback. He knew Baron was causing trouble, but he hadn't understood the circumstances. He felt a pang of regret for making fun of Cecil, Kain and Rosa for being Baronians earlier. They had probably watched their kingdom tear itself apart and all they could do was flee and watch helplessly from afar – kind of like him. But unlike him, they had been doing something about it this whole time.

"But we're going to make sure that doesn't happen!" Rydia said, trying to lift the spirits of the room. It didn't work very well.

Edge shook his head, disgusted that he had been hiding in the shadows this long. "Everything that's been done has been at this Golbez's command, then. It must not go unpunished! I guess I'll have to go with you and deal the deathblow myself!"

Seneschal gasped, jumping up and down nervously. "But, Your Young Highness, your people need you now! Eblan must be rebuilt!"

Edge turned to face him, shaking his finger. "This isn't just about Eblan! It's about the whole world! I have to help stop him. Besides…Eblan has been isolated from the world far too long if things have gotten this bad. Maybe things could have been different if we had gotten involved earlier. That's something we're never gonna know, but I can do something starting right now."

Seneschal frowned, and reached out to take Edge's hand. "You speak rashly as always, Your Highness, but for once, I feel you are correct." He turned to Cecil. "Can I trouble the four of you to just take care of Edge just a little while longer? He's brash, obnoxious, boastful, and has a touch of perversion for beautiful women…but I promise you, his heart is filled with nothing but light."

"We'd be…honored to have Edge join our fight," Cecil chose his words carefully. Rosa and Rydia looked at each other and smiled weakly, while Kain looked away and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well then...do be careful!" Seneschal sighed, squeezing Edge's hand before letting go.

"Of course. Leave this to me!" Edge flipped his hair back. "I'll take good care of these guys."

"Very well. We will do our best to protect Eblan in your absence." Seneschal started to walk away, but turned back one last time, the pleading in his eyes as he stared at Cecil.

"Please, take care of our young prince."

"May shadow hide you, Your Highness!" The ninjas said in unison, bowing.

"And you!" Edge bowed back.

Seneschal and the ninjas left, going back the way they came, and leaving just the five of them again.

"All right," Edge squatted down, giving his legs a quick stretch. "Let's go get this Golbez!"

Rydia glared. "We came here for the Crystals."

"Right, I knew that. Follow me! The chamber I was telling you about is just up ahead."

Edge led them past the transporter, which had stopped glowing, and through a pair of double doors. Standing before them was a giant mirrored crystal chamber, with eight pedestals erected in a circle. Seven of the eight pedestals held a glowing, floating crystal, silently shedding light as it slowly rotated in place. Four of them were a clear, sky-blue, the other three amber and emitting a gentle warmth.

"This is it!" Cecil exclaimed, running forward. "Gods be praised, we've finally made it!"

"Hope you guys brought a big enough bag!" Edge laughed. "See, I told ya' there'd be crystals!" He stepped up to one of the platforms and reached up to grab one. "They're a lot bigger in person, I see…"

Suddenly, there was a loud "click", and the floor collapsed underneath Edge's feet on the platform. With a strangled cry, he fell through the newly-revealed opening and disappeared from sight.

"EDGE!" Cecil cried, but the click rang out again, and Cecil's feet fell from underneath him as well. He was flying so fast that his surroundings were just a black blur. Closing his eyes, he braced himself for the inevitable crushing of his bones, if he was lucky to live long enough to feel it.

"…Float…!"

A pair of small, transparent angel wings appeared on Cecil's back, and instead of smashing into the floor, his boots gently tapped down, and he landed standing up. He saw to his left that Edge had managed to survive as well, and he was glancing over his shoulders like a dog chasing his tail trying to see what had saved him from becoming a pancake.

Kain, Rosa and Rydia joined them seconds later, the wings disappearing from their backs once Rosa touched down.

"Is everyone OK?" Rosa asked.

"Thanks to you, yes," Kain sighed.

"That was amazingly quick thinking," Edge acknowledged. "You must be a pretty powerful white mage to group cast like that while falling to your death."

"I do my best," Rosa smiled.

"But where are we?" Rydia asked. "We're still in the Tower of Babil, right?"

They were in a room that had the same white floors and walls as the chamber they had fought Rubicante in, but of course the opening above them was wide-open, and pitch-black so they couldn't see just exactly how far they had fallen. In fact, there were hardly any lights in the room at all, just a few glowing blue spheres wedged in the corners.

"I suspect based upon the heat, we've fallen back into the subterranean level of the tower," Kain said.

"Well, let's just see what's behind door number one, eh?" Edge asked, kicking open a door he had been standing by.

"Careful!" Rydia snapped. "You do realize we just fell into a trap!?"

But Edge had already left.

Cecil followed him, and found that they were in an even darker room now. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw Edge approaching something huge and draped in shadows at the end of a wooden walkway. Running to follow him, Cecil only made it a few yards before Edge let out a loud "WHOOP!"

"All right, we can escape in this!"

"What is "this"?" Cecil asked.

There was a popping noise, and Edge held up his hands, cradling a ball of fire to make light.

"An airship!"

Sure enough, it was an airship before them – they had wandered into a hangar. The stained wood and painted emblems along the port gave away that they had come across a stolen Red Wing ship. Cecil felt a brief tug of nostalgia – it could have even been the ship he commanded. Everything looked just as he remembered from his final mission with the Red Wings – the massacre in Mysidia.

Rydia had come up behind Cecil, shaking her head.

"But it's an enemy ship."

Edge had blown out the fire and proceeded to release the ramp. With a loud slam, it smacked down into the walkway, causing a pile of dust to burst into the air. "Don't worry, I'm sure she'd rather be flown by us anyway!"

They boarded, and Kain, Rosa and Rydia poked around for suspicious people and items below deck while Edge watched Cecil mess with the controls - Everything really was just like before. Cecil could have flown this ship with his eyes closed.

"You don't suppose this could be a trap, do you?" Rosa asked as she came back upstairs, giving up her hunt. She hadn't found anything out of the ordinary…which seemed even more suspicious. Rydia and Kain followed silently, still waiting for something to jump out at them.

Edge shook his head. "This beauty? Not a chance! All right, then...first things first. Time to christen her…we'll call her the Falcon! Everyone, please say something celebratory for our maiden voyage."

Rydia rolled her eyes. "Oh, for..."

Cecil started the engine, interrupting Edge's reverie. "Quickly! We must get out of here!"

Edge saddled up next to Cecil, pulling the lever that released the brake. "Let's see what you can do, Falcon!"

The propellers chattered along smoothly as they began to lift in the air. Kain kept an eye on the port that was rapidly shrinking below them, but no one ran out after them or tried to shoot them down. Above, the roof began to retract, probably set off by a sensor they had flown past.

When they emerged, they found themselves hovering next to the Tower of Babil, with King Giott's castle due south. Kain had been right – they had fallen back into the underworld. Giott's tanks had disappeared – they had probably fled when the airship battle occurred after the bridge had collapsed under Cecil and the others.

Edge ran to the bow of the ship, marveling at everything before him like a kid in a candy store.

"So this is the underworld! I can't believe it really exists. Why aren't you guys more excited?!"

"We've spent a good amount of time being defeated down here," Cecil said dryly. "Not exactly the best memories."

"And to add one more bad experience, we should probably talk to King Giott," Kain said. "And let him know the state of the crystals."

"Agreed," Cecil said, and attempted to cross the magma toward the castle. However, the Falcon let out a violent shudder, and Cecil quickly pulled back over land.

"I think we've answered why this one was left behind in the hangar," Rosa said. "No mythril wrapping to protect from the magma!"

"We should be OK if we stay over land," Cecil said. "I'll navigate carefully…it's just going to be a little slow-going."

"Oh dear…we won't be able to go to the Feymarch to get help like this," Rydia frowned. "And we've no way back to the surface to get more mythril…"

"Why not?" Edge blinked. "How'd you get here before?"

"We kind of…blew up the entrance on our last trip out," Kain said. "It was an emergency situation."

"Ahahaha…ohhh I can't wait to see the look on this King Giott's face when you tell him all this," Edge grinned.

"Are you really on our side?" Rydia snapped.

"Of course I am!" Edge protested. "But you have to understand, I've been with a despairing populace for the last few days of my life! Your drama is a very nice breath of fresh air for me."

"Unbelievable," she sighed. "I take it back… I don't think you're the snake after all."

"What was that?"

"…Nothing."