Chapter 7

Edgar rowed across the sea to the ancient rock of Thamasa. Long before anyone could remember it had been there, and Thamasan legend said that the Goddesses themselves had created the world from that very stone. Now they were gone...

"Strago!" shouted Edgar, staring at the withered old man. The years had not been kind to Strago Magus. War, oppression, lynchings; for his almost one hundred years he had never known peace. And now on the verge of his death, the horror had started again.

"Edgar...how nice it is, to," Strago coughed twice and continued, "to see a friendly face. Relm, I could not bear to see her anymore. Not like this...a young guy..like..me," Strago was interrupted by a fit of coughing.

Edgar knelt down and stared at him. "Strago, I need your help. My city, Crescentia, was destroyed by magic. A foul magic."

"Oh...goddesses. I wished I could leave Relm a better world...then when I was born. It...seems man can..never have peace. I cannot...aid you now, Edgar. I am too far...beyond. But I must tell you something." Strago leaned back against a stone.

"Relm is not my grandchild, Edgar. I...love her more than anything, but she is not mine. Shadow..is her father, Edgar. He fell in love..with a young girl, a magus. She was hunted, by Doman troops...when she died, Shadow killed his emotions. He left Relm behind...for me. I never had any children...it was the greatest thing that ever happened...but now, she must know..."

Edgar held Strago's hand. "Good-bye, old friend. I will tell Relm the truth, sleep well."

Strago passed away, and Edgar felt his pulse stop. He stood and prepared to leave, but a chill wind made him turn back. Strago stood in front of him.

"Lord Edgar of Man. I am Poltergeist, you know me."

"I killed you, brach. You are gone from here." Edgar drew his weapons.

"Put those down, Lord of Man. I was not killed, my idol was destroyed. By this act, you released a very ancient evil. Zemus d'Luna."

"I've never heard of him. Why should I be afraid of some moon man?"

"Zemus...no, he is Zemus no longer. Zeromus is a man of evil. He IS evil. He is everything that Kefka was personified. He is more powerful than anything this Earth has ever seen, and his sole wish is destruction. He will feed off the grief of the dying, and use the power to rule the Cosmos."

"And you think I am afraid of him?"

"If you are not, you are a fool, Lord of Man. I am dying now. Zeromus killed me. He killed all of us, at once, in our own home and we COULD NOT HARM HIM. Do you understand, Lord of Man? I am now passing to a place where no light ever touches the ground. I will live a life of such torment you COULD NOT BELIEVE. And it will never end. Unless you wish this fate upon this world, you WILL listen. Garner your forces, Lord of Man. The destiny of all of Creation lies in your hands. Ignore me, and let it all fall under the shadow of evil. Or you may heed my warning and stop it. What will it be, Lord of Man?"

"Tell me."

"Zeromus has been killed before. On many worlds, he was been defeated. His kind, the Lunarians, use a different source of magic than you. A very potent form of Neutral magic, based on the moon."

"Neutral? But he is evil."

"He may heal and he may destroy. But to destroy him, you must utilize a higher force. We Goddesses are not of the Existence. But a more

powerful being created us. Into our hands he gave a single crystal, which we divided into many parts. Upon this...NOOOO! He comes Lord of Man! 'Ware, for he is quick and deadly when he strikes. You must stop him..."

And the voice of Poltergeist faded from human ears forever.

Gogo stepped into his cavernous chamber. He dropped his robes and felt pseudoflesh slide from his body. Gogo was neither male, nor female. It was a robot, a creation made for one purpose, the hand of the Goddesses.

It was Gogo's role to stop Kefka from exploiting the Goddesses' powers.

Silently guiding, he eventually turned the tide in the favor of the heroes. Now, he relaxed.

"Gogo."

"Miztrez Poltergeizt. At lazt I hear from you!" Gogo said with the characteristic buzz of an artificial life-form.

"Gogo, I am about to die. My life is over and I must give my duties to you. The Dark One has arisen once more. He is more powerful than I have ever seen him and it is he who has slain me."

"NO! How iz it pozzible? How could he kill you? Miztrez!"

"I understand Gogo, but forget me. You must save this world. Use your powers once more to destroy Zeromus and save this world. I am counting on you Gogo...please, save my planet..."

And if robots could shed tears, Gogo would have cried.

"Setzer, is rain common to this region?" asked Shadow, looking out the cave.

"No...we're in a desert." Setzer stared out. "Damn! This is a hell of a storm we've got brewing." He leaned against the wall. "We might as well wait it out here."

"Why? Why not go into your airship?" Shadow was annoyed when people decided to "rough it." He never understood why.

"Because in the airship any weather can hit us. In here, we're safe."

"Okay, but remember that I warned you..."

Locke and Sabin walked out to the docks. "Strange weather, eh, Locke?"

"Certainly. This kind of storm usually doesn't hit Kohlingen. Very odd."

Locke and Sabin approached a portly looking captain, sitting on a barrel. "How can I help ye," asked the old man.

"I need a ship to take you to Thamasa," stated Sabin, simply.

"Har, har, har! That's a good one! Look at the sky," said the sailor, gesturing to the north. A huge storm was brewing.

"Yeah, but Thamasa is to the south. And the south is..." Sabin stared south. "Oops." Another massive storm was heading from the south. "What the hell?"

"I know. Very strange."

Martin strode up to the Chancellor. "You called, Lord?"

"Yes, this awful noise is making it impossible to work!" He gestured at the pipes. "Does it not disturb you?" A strange moaning noise filled the air, originating from the pipes.

"The price of technology, Lord Chancellor. There must be a clog in the system. What do you want me to do about it?"

"You insolence borders on treason, Guardsman. Tread carefully, for you are on thin ice."

'Damn egotistical bastard. I can't wait till Edgar gets back,' thought Martin. "Yes, Lord Chancellor," sighed the soldier. "I still don't see how I can help you."

"Talk to the engineer, Private Martin. Tell HIM to fix the problem."

Martin marched down the hallway, heading for the engine room. The damn sound was even worse in here. "Damn Chancellor thinks the world revolves around him! I wish I could.." Martin's mumbling trailed off as he entered the engine room.

"Engineer?"

"Yes?" replied the somewhat strange man.

"Fix the pipes."

"What's wrong with them?"

"The blasted sounds! Can't you hear it?"

"Yes..."

"Well fix it! Chancellor's orders."

"But..."

"No buts, Engineer. This is of the highest priority."

"PRIVATE Martin. As I was trying to say, I checked the system. There is nothing..." A scream cut him off.

"What the hell!" shouted Martin rushing up the steps. "Oh..Goddesses. How can it be?"

Martin died in a moment. For others, the battle lasted a few minutes.

But within the span of an hour, all of Figaro was dead. And within the streets, it was the dead that ruled. An unstoppable, undead army. Bent on destroying the world.