Another day. Another day to kill people. Sometimes I wonder why I even get up in the first place. My team: 1. an insane clown, 2. and a man who is loyal to this place, so much that he can't leave even if he wants to. No wonder he managed to become a general. The "emperor" isn't so much an emperor as the insane clown, who manages to literally mind control this girl who has strange fire magic. Well, that is, until she disappeared a few days ago. Here, it wouldn't be so strange – I have ice magic myself – but her magic is natural, unlike mine. This place is shady. I don't even know how I ended up here in the first place, but all I can remember of my childhood is combat training at this place. This place they call the Gestahlian Empire, or The Empire. "Empire" so they sound more powerful than the two kingdoms that rule the northern continent. Although it's soon to be one. How soon? Who knows? But I do know that it will be nefarious. Insane clowns are terrible politicians, don't you think?
"You can't just sit there." Leo looks at me. "The cost is too high." This is true. However, I don't really want to storm yet another town, village, or whatever we're doing today.
"Is there not one day that we can take a break from murder?" I ask him, although I already know what his answer will be. His blind loyalty stops the Empire from killing him, I suppose, but that's about as much as it does for him. Mostly, it lets Leo be their toy soldier, to kill whoever they want him to, with no complaints from him.
"You know the answer, don't you? Besides, Celes, if the Empire takes over the world, we won't have to do this anymore."
"You mean I won't have to do this anymore. If you care, then act like you aren't a heartless man who doesn't care whether or not anyone was alive. You'd kill me without a-"
Manic laughter comes from the hallway. "Are you ready to kill people?!"
"Shut up, Kefka!" I scream at him. "I'd call him an idiot, but he's not stupid, just insane," I growl at nobody in particular.
A while later, we end up in a small desert near a river. I sit in a tent, listening to the two men talk, because I'm afraid to watch.
"Kefka, you can't do this. If you poison the river to kill the Returners, all the people in Doma will die."
"Okay then, I won't." Kefka's manic laughter fills my ears.
Leo starts to walk away, but then comes back and looks in the tent.
"You won't miss me, will you? One of the soldiers needs me to help him catch fish, or something."
"Leo, he'll poison the river as soon as-"
"He wouldn't dare, not when I told him not to." We both know that this is not true, but there's no point in arguing with Leo.
The manic laughter has gone on for far too long now. I look outside and see Kefka struggling to open a jar. I yank it out of his hands. A bit splashes on me, and reading the label, I gasp.
"But – Kefka, you can't! That's inhumane!"
He laughs. Again. "And we care?" He proceeds to get many other jars of cyanide and dump them into the lake.
I find Leo. "Can we please go? Before Kefka does anything else?" He nods slowly, no doubt realizing what he just let Kefka do.
"Alright, soldiers, let's go back. We've done what we're here for," he announces to everyone else.
Apparently, Emperor Gestahl had some commanders, Magitek soldiers, and normal soldiers capture South Figaro, so that's where we go – we're closer to it, since we're on the Northern Continent and the Empire is on the Southern Continent. Leo, however, has "business" at the Imperial Palace – according to Kefka, that is – so he doesn't come with us.
Kefka glares at me "This woman," he says to some soldiers, "is a traitor to the Empire. She has committed treason and must be killed." I step back and draw my sword, but to no avail. They grab my arms and forcefully punch my head, knocking me unconscious.