It's been a long day. We went to Kohlingen to figure out where Terra was, and they said she went south, and the southernmost town that is currently accessible is Jidoor. They're saying that she went north, toward the mountains. The town in the mountains is a really bad place to be for her – for anyone, really – and now we're going there? Without the best armor and weapons? Nobody will listen to my complaints, though, so I won't even bother.
We get there after killing various monsters that were too weak to ever stand a chance. It's dusk, and what's more – it's raining. In this town, it's always raining, but it doesn't help when it's the middle of the night in a town full of thieves who are going to mug you any chance they get. I'd heard rumors that they kill people, including each other, at night, and target the women first, although I don't know how anyone knew that.
"Of all the places she could have gone, and she came here?" I sigh and look at Locke. "If you run away to join a band of thieves-"
"Why would I do that, 'cause I'm not a thief. I'm a treasure hunter." He glares at me.
I look at the sky, covered in gray clouds that vanish at the boundaries of the town. "Let's just find her and get out of here."
"You scared, Celes?" He looks at me, smirking.
"No, for your information, I am not scared. However, there are rumors that the thieves here kill anyone they come across, especially women, and it's been days. The longer we wait, the higher the chance is that they've already killed Terra, and I don't think anyone wants that to happen." He looks a bit scared and steps back. "Are you scared, Locke?" He does not respond but stands in front of me and continues walking forward.
We talk to a few people who do not attempt murder – maybe they do it in your sleep – and everyone seems confused, myself included.
"Why are they all talking about time? What does that have to do with anything?" Edgar asks.
"Well, they're all pathological liars, so we know what time it's not, but that seems irrelevant." I sigh. The one person did say he hadn't seen a girl, which means he did, so we may as well look. It's not like fighting random monsters in a thief town is going to help us much, especially when half the monsters are thieves as well." Nobody responds, but they seem to agree, as we go to the building and start to scale it. As soon as we get inside on the second floor, we see a barrage of thieves who seem to appear out of nowhere are walking in a line to the stairs. Since they are walking through a narrow pathway, which happens to be the only pathway to the stairs, we have to follow them to reach the top of the building. They are all, for some reason, talking about time. Edgar's missing, too, and something seems suspicious about this whole thing. We walk up the stairs, but then we reach a dead end and the only way up are stairs on a different building.
"This is like when I was on the Phantom Train – we'll have to jump through the buildings to get to the top. Watch!" Sabin shouts at us as he jumps through the empty window onto a very narrow building. Well, for something that has always sounded like an exaggeration, he seems confident enough – maybe he was actually almost brought to the afterlife on a train? And there's no other way up, so I suppose we have to reach the top of the other building this way. So we jump, and I go last only because Locke got to it first since he is faster than me, due to him being a thief. Even though we only jumped four times – and they weren't very long jumps, either – the boys seem to be very tired when we reach the other building.
"We should stop. You two couldn't go anywhere even if you wanted to," I say, looking at them with my arms crossed.
"But someone might attack us in the middle of the night-" Locke attempts to start complaining.
"They didn't last night, so I would assume they won't tonight." I glare at him. He is overreactive. "And it's not like they spent their entire lives training to fight, either," I add, since it comes to mind and if I know him, he's afraid they'll kill me, not him or anyone else. He reluctantly nods, and there is no reason to waste sleeping bags or a tent inside of a building, so we just sleep on the floor.
I wake up and find there is a knife stabbed to my back. I reach for my sword, but a hand grabs it first. I feel blood trickle down my back – whoever is holding the knife cut me when I reached for my sword. They grab my shirt and drag me outside, and I stay quiet to catch them off guard, because when they think they've won, they let their guard down. They drag me up stairs and call to someone, letting me go. I stand up slowly, but not too slowly, and look around. He is a thief, although that much was obvious, and does not seem to be looking at me. The other thief stops and talks to the first.
"Pretty girl you got there, she'll be nice to-" I can't hear the last part, which is partially because he sounds very, very drunk.
"Nah, she's too pretty to dispose of, I think I'll-" the first thief begins to talk incoherently and I cannot understand what he is saying. I step to the side in an attempt to avoid violence, but the second thief notices me and is in front of the doorway in an instant. He holds up a knife and points it at me.
"We can't have you going anywhere. You're far too valuable…" he slurs and attempts to stab my arm with the knife, but he has terrible aim and almost attacks his friend. The friend also raises a knife and they both corner me to the railing and attempt to stab me. I try to cast Blizzard, but the spell fails somehow, and I am still cornered. Suddenly, I hear the sound of a chainsaw.
Edgar appears, jumping from the small, narrow building to this one, and high enough to reach this floor of the building. "Don't worry, my lady! Edgar is here!" I roll my eyes at his overexaggerated speech and push the drunk men to get out of the corner, as their defenses had loosened when Edgar caught them off guard. "D'you like my new chainsaw, Celes?"
"Sure, great chainsaw. Just actually help instead of spinning around like a lunatic," I growled at him. He somehow managed to cut the drunk men while acting just as drunk as them – spinning around to use a chainsaw is really dumb – and the thieves ran away.
"She was rich, at least!" they screamed as they jumped onto the ground. That must have hurt, because they stop moving, although when I squint, I can see them breathing, although faintly. I walk back downstairs, and sit down in the room we had found to sleep in. I lean my head back and look at the ceiling, letting the rain drip out of my hair. Edgar lays down and apparently falls asleep. It's been a long night, but I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight. I pull my legs closer to my torso and put my left hand over them, and press my fingers onto the fingerless leather genji glove I had been given when Narshe was sieged. I sit there for a minute, trying to calm myself, and see a tiny – tiny – bit of light shine on the town, and realize it's morning. I grab a bit of twine from the pocket dimension, and put my hair in a ponytail. I momentarily close my eyes and stand up, walking out of the room. I look up at the sky, which is covered in stormy gray clouds pouring rain all over the place. I grab the railing and let the rain pour on me, not caring that I'm soaking wet – what harm will it do? – and wait for everyone else to come out. And we're so close – I can feel Terra right up these stairs, but there's someone standing here and I don't want to be attacked again, so I wait.
The boys apparently decided to wake up at exactly the same time. And for some reason also decided to politely ask if they could pass. Even though the people here don't care if you're polite or if you're the rudest person in the universe.
His response: "I'm not very strong in a fight and I'd hate for there to be any trouble, so why don't I just let you pass?" He then attacks them and somehow catches them completely off guard. I just stand there watching, slightly amused – they could beat this guy easily enough without me.
"Celes, what are you doing?!" Locke yelled at me, blood on his arm.
"Well, it's your fault you for some reason didn't expect someone to attack you. Edgar's got a new chainsaw. You guys'll be fine." I looked at him pointedly – honestly, there was no other way to look at him – and watched them fight.
Edgar kept spinning with a chainsaw and the thief's blood was smattered everywhere. Edgar looked dizzy, which could be expected, and it's a bit surprising that we haven't been injured at all by his terrible use of a chainsaw. Locke mugs the thief, over and over, well – the other thief – and Sabin just punches the thief. Over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over. I stand there, watching as the boys get injured, but not really helping, but evidently I had overestimated them, as they all end up very injured and the thief they're fighting hasn't even tried to run away. I roll my eyes, cast Cure on them enough to fully heal all of them, and join their fight.
"You must be really strong with this girl here. I should run away right now!" Obviously, he thinks I'm weak. Sadly for him, he is very mistaken on this topic. I draw my swords and start to attack him, the boys gradually helping after the shock of almost being defeated. The thief seems to try to run away, and-
"Celes, WATCH OUT!" The thief has grabbed the front of my shirt. I somehow remove his grip, and I hear a rip, but there is no visible damage to any of my clothing, so I don't know what the rip even was. I walk up the stairs a bit and look up at the next floor.
"She's got to be there – I can feel her… there's someone else, too." I turn and snatch the railing. I was mad at the thieves, at the Empire… What if she died? She would probably have died with no memories – poor Terra. I hate them. I hate them. I feel someone's hand on my shoulder and jerk away, quickly walking up the stairs and letting the rain create wet splotches on my face. I calm very easily, but my anger can be dangerous – I once killed a child. A child. I had run away from the scene very quickly when I'd done that – I hadn't wanted to see what I had done – and all that had happened because Kefka had done something really, really antagonistic.
Giving me an escape from my thoughts, Sabin busts through the door and runs inside, Edgar following him. I look backward at Locke and sigh. We then walk through the door. Inside is a very big carpet, a bed, and a chair. Terra, who still looks like an esper, is lying on the bed. We walk up toward her, surrounding her for some reason. I end up at the foot of the bed, and look into her eyes. She seems absolutely petrified – but of what? Suddenly, an old man appears. I immediately recognize him – Ramuh? How did he get here? The last time I saw him, he was in a test tube, his magic being drained from him. I don't say anything, though, because the fact that I even know this esper is a bit weird in itself.
"She's scared, you know."
"Who are you?" The boys seem to step away – except Locke.
"She is, presumably, your friend?" more a question than a statement, Locke nods to Ramuh's speech.
"Is Terra okay?" Locke asks.
"So her name is Terra… strange…" Why? Directly after Ramuh asks his question, Terra seems to leap out of the bed, bangs her head against the wall, and falls unconscious.
"She is not in danger. She was simply overwhelmed by a power she used, not knowing she had it." Ramuh does not turn and look at us; he stands there looking at the wall. "Now she has lost control of her body. As for me, I am Ramuh – an esper."
Everyone looks at him. Locke seems surprised. "You're an esper!? Don't they live in a different world?"
Ramuh bangs his staff against the floor, still looking at the wall. "That does not stop us from living in this one. Espers appear in various ways. I appear similar to humans, so I can live here as one… without worrying anyone will discover the truth."
"Why hide the fact that you're an esper?" Locke asks, while standing behind the chair Ramuh is sitting on. I have no idea why he's standing there – he just is.
Ramuh blinks. "Humans and espers are incompatible." I know this fact all too well, but I don't want to say anything – Ramuh will probably address this later.
Locke looks sideways a bit, at the back of the chair Ramuh is sitting on. "But my grandma told me humans and espers used to live together… but it was only a bedtime story." Of course, leave it to him to mention a random bedtime story from his childhood.
"No, that was no story. That was the truth. Humans and espers once lived in harmony," Ramuh tells him after blinking (of course). "At least, until the War of the Magi."
Sabin turns around and looks at the now empty bed. "The War of the Magi…"
Locke steps closer and looks at Ramuh as he speaks. "It took place long ago… Espers fought humans who had extracted magic from other espers and infused themselves with it. After the end of that meaningless war, the espers created a new realm and exiled themselves to it. They feared that if they remained, it would only be a matter of time before they were targeted again for their powers. But then, about twenty years ago, humans who knew of espers and our powers stumbled upon our world. And thus began the hunt. For Gestahl knew that he could use our magic, when extracted, to create an invincible army. As soon as we realized what was happening, we created a gate and forced the humans out of our realm." He closed his eyes. "Those who were captured are still being held in the Empire's Magitek Research Facility, being drained of their magic. I narrowly escaped that fate, and now here I am."
Locke turns around and blinks, and with Sabin's help, drags Terra back to the bed she had been in before.
"She seems to have calmed down a bit…" Ramuh opens his eyes. "I called Terra to me when I sensed she'd lost control. She responded to that call."
Locke walks up to Ramuh. "So Terra's… an esper?"
I walk up to Locke, Edgar behind me. Ramuh closes his eyes and responds, "No, she's actually quite different."
Locke turns and looks at her. "She looks like she's in pain…"
"She's afraid of what she is," Ramuh tells him, "and that is a painful thing."
Locke walks up to Terra and looks at her. He looks back at Ramuh. "How do we help her?"
Ramuh opens his eyes. "Once she understands her true nature, she should not be afraid any longer."
Everyone looks at him. "Can't we do anything?" Locke questions him.
"The others of my kind who are trapped in the Research Facility may be of some help."
Locke walks up to Ramuh. "And if we can get inside the facility, you're sure we'll be able to find them?"
I turn and look at the ground. "...All of them? I thought…" I look back at them.
"I escaped alone, abandoning my friends and hiding here like a coward," Ramuh tells us, closing his eyes. "But I'm afraid I cannot stay here any longer."
"What do you mean?" Locke asks.
Ramuh bangs his staff on the floor. "Gestahl's methods are mistaken. He knows only to steal an esper's magic, but that does not unlock our true potential. Only when we become magicite can our strength be transferred in full."
"What are you saying?" Locke asks him.
"I shall turn myself into magicite to give you my strength."
Everyone appears puzzled by Ramuh's statement. Eventually, Locke wonders aloud, "...Magicite?"
"Magicite," Ramuh responds, "is the purest form of an esper's power. When an esper dies, magicite is what remains…"
"But…!" Locke seems to realize what Ramuh means.
There are bright white flashes, and three elliptic green gemstones with circular red cores drift to the floor behind us, and we turn and look at the stones.
"These are my companions who fell as we fled the Empire…" Ramuh explains the stones. "And I will give you my magic as well…"
Locke turns and walks up to Ramuh, who holds up his staff and, in a powerful and blinding flash which pushes us, becomes a stone like the ones that had drifted to the floor just moments prior. Locke shakes his head and blinks, walking up to the stone and looking down at it. Everyone walks up around him. "You're really gone… aren't you?" He looks up. "He turned himself to magicite…" I walk up to him as he continues, "He gave up his life to save us…" Locke blinks again and looks to his side at what used to be Ramuh. We take all four magicite, as there's nothing else to do. I can feel their souls, and figure out their names: Ramuh (obviously), Siren, Stray, and Kirin. Locke looks at the floor for a moment and turns around. He starts to walk toward the door and everyone else follows him. Cyan and Gau are standing near the door. I walk forward, behind the others. We promptly leave the room, leaving the magicite in the pocket dimension. I end up near the front of the group somehow, along with Sabin.
"So… that's how you got your magic?" An innocent question, but I don't feel like answering. I do anyway.
"I don't actually know. I've heard rumors, but rumors are likely false." I continue down the stairs and stop at the edge of the town. I look at the sky, where clouds become a clear sky. It looks quite beautiful. Everyone else reaches the edge of Zozo as well, and I look back at them.
"We need to go to the Magitek Research Facility he told us about, don't we?" Locke looks at everyone kind of funny.
"I'll go. I know the Empire – for me not to go wouldn't exactly make sense," I say, looking at the sky again. My hair is sopping wet and I feel water dripping onto my back while the rain drenches all of us.
"But alone?" I don't bother to figure out who asked.
Cyan attempts to stop me. "She will not go alone-"
"You probably just want to kill her," Locke interjects. "Nobody said she was going alone – I'll go with her."
How nice of him. I faintly blush, glad I'm looking away from the group behind me. I feel the slight heat disappear from my cheeks and turn around. "Who else is coming?" Edgar and Sabin immediately volunteer. I'm a bit glad it was them, because if Cyan had come, it would have been awkward, and Gau hardly knows language. The latter promptly depart to Narshe, leaving us alone.
"That leaves the question of getting there," I say, "unless some ships' captains decided to go there, where their ship would be burned?"
"Maybe the people in Jidoor know some way to get there," Locke suggests. There's not really a better option, or I would have mentioned it, so we leave for Jidoor.