What had he wanted? Why had he attacked those newly developed cities? He couldn't remember. <They betrayed you,> whispered a voice. They had betrayed him! Just like his friends!

They would pay! <Would you like them to pay?> whispered the voice.

"YES!" shouted Edgar. "Look what they have done to me!" He looked in the mirror at his ravaged body. Since he had taken the dark power his hair had turned pitch black, his eyes red, and his skin had grown scaly brown. He was a monster!

<Yes. They have ruined you. But I can help.>

"Please... help me..." Edgar sobbed. He leaned down on the bed, his massive body shaking.

<I can return you to normal.>

"Please... I'll do anything!"

<Very well.> Livouf Takar flooded more Dark Force into Edgar. Edgar felt his body change back into its natural form. <When cut off from the flow, you will revert to the beast they made you.>

"Oh! Thank you! I will never leave the Flow."

Livouf Takar laughed to himself. <Listen carefully. A man named Hao has been given the power to kill me and stop the flow. He wants to separate me from you. You from the Flow.>

"NO!"

<Very good. Now, for me to stop him, I need Blood Power. The more who die by your hand, the stronger I am. And the stronger the Flow.>

"How many do I kill?" questioned Edgar eagerly.

<Target Zozo with the Light of Judgement. That will be enough... for now.>

"I'm Celes!" she shouted at the guards.

"So?" One leapt forward, and Celes drove her sword through his skull. A crunch followed as the crossbar slammed into his forehead. She pulled her sword out, and hacked at one of the two remaining guards.

She felled him easily. The remaining one dropped his sword. "I surrender! My name is Jakob, and I have a wife and three kids at home. Don't kill me." Celes stopped her advance.

"I'll have to tie you up."

"Fine." Celes advanced and pulled rope from her belt. As she leaned down, the guard lunged up with a concealed knife, plunging it into her stomach. He leapt back as Celes pulled her sword.

"You son of a bitch!" Celes growled. She pulled the knife out and blood gushed onto the floor. She stumbled and collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.

***

"Here she is, your majesty." Jakob told King Edgar. Edgar nodded, and looked at the pale corpse.

"You may go." Jakob bowed and left. "I don't know what you were doing, Celes, but you will pay."

He lowered his sword to her face and cut a rune into it. "Livouf Takar, she is yours."

<Good. Now, I will give you her powers.>

Celes moaned and writhed on the ground as the rune glowed red. Edgar smiled. "I feel it! I have magic!"

<You will need the Orb the Lunarian has. First, though, use the Flow to awaken the bitch.>

Edgar pointed his sword and Celes, and the blood stopped. She blinked and opened her eyes.

"Ed... gar..." Celes rasped. Edgar smiled.

"You will bring me the Orb." he ordered.

"Never..."

<BRING THE ORB!>

"Yes..." moaned Celes.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" shouted Edgar, as he watched Celes stumble out of the castle.

<And now...>

"Of course. The Light of Judgement."

And Zozo burned. And Livouf Takar laughed....

"We have to keep moving!" Cid called.

"Celes!" Rydia suddenly cried. She collapsed to the ground.

"What? What about Celes?"

"Pain... horrible... incredible... pain!"

Suddenly, Rydia seemed fine.

"What happened?" Rosa asked.

Rydia suddenly started crying. "Celes! I can't feel anything. She's gone..."

"WHAT?"

"Come, we have to get out of here." FuSoYa spoke for the first time since he had cast his last spell.

*****

Celes smiled. She hadn't been this well-treated in weeks. She was given heapings of food. People had been on hand for her every whim. Doctors had tended to her wounds....

She was being treated like a queen.

Edgar had promised she would be treated like this forever more, if she completed the job he had assigned her. "Of course," he had said, "If you fail, you will die."

Celes didn't want to leave the comfort of this new "home", but she had to get going.

*****

"Rydia, you haven't said anything in almost two days, and you've spent most of your time in this room." Rosa peeked in, trying to think of some way to cheer her up.

"She's dead, Rosa. Don't you understand that?"

Rydia turned back to the window, and gazed at the Nikean coast. It didn't seem so spectacular anymore.

She closed her eyes, using the Dryad magic again, making sure that Edge was alright, wherever on the planet he was. She felt something she shouldn't have... Celes. She was out there. She could barely pick her up, but she could feel her.

"I feel her..." She turned back to Rosa excitedly. "She's alive!"

*****

"I do not think we are taking the right approach, Chosen One," FuSoYa said as he walked alongside the others.

"We have to see for ourselves," Cid said. Despite pleadings by the others to stay, he said he had to come with them.

"FuSoYa, we have to help Celes if she is alive. Rydia and I wouldn't be here if it weren't for her."

"I believe that we should find her too, Chosen One, but, shouldn't we find Edge first? Celes is probably being held in Figaro Castle, and it was tough enough just getting in there, but breaking someone out?"

Suddenly Rydia stopped. "Celes," she whispered, "she's coming this way. Fast. Maybe on a chocobo, but it is still so hard to sense her." Rydia banged her hand against her head in frustration.

*****

Celes smiled as she looked at her torn and tattered clothes. She got a vague sense of feeling that what she was doing was wrong. It dissolved soon enough. Edgar had to be right. Edgar was always right...

She smiled again, and then put on the best haggard, pale-faced look she could. Her acting was going to come in handy now. She slumped forward, and drew her sword, holding it close up to her, as if for protection.

The chocobo came to a stop not far from the others. They ran forward. Celes clumsily dismounted. "Rydia, Rosa..." She fell to the ground.

"What happened... your face?" Rydia said. She took out the orb and handed it to Rosa, who cast a Cure 3.

Celes stood up, acting a little better. "I was hurt, and some guards caught me. They brought me to Edgar, he seemed crazed... egotistical as usual though." She paused for a second to smile at them. "He was going to torture me, but I got away. Got on the chocobo and rode here."

"Then why... why can't I still feel you?" Rydia had her eyes closed.

"Maybe your magic doesn't work as well as you thought."

Rydia tried harder. Suddenly, something tripped in her brain. A monster. She could feel something inside Celes.

Celes knew she had been found out. She lunged at Rosa, grabbing for the orb. Rosa moved just quick enough to get away.

FuSoYa stepped forward. "What's..." Celes stabbed him.

"Uugnh..." He stumbled back, into Rosa's arms. "So I... so Edge was ri... ght." He fell into unconsciousness.

Celes lept at Rosa, who just passed the orb to Rydia. Before either could react, Rydia called a chocobo.

Apparently, Celes' chocobo was going to do the same thing as the called one. They both attacked; Celes fought back. Although she couldn't hurt the called one, she lopped the real one's head clean off.

"I call... Shiva!" Rydia said . She morphed into a what looked like a female mage, dressed completely in blue.

"Now fall into a deep freeze..." the being said.

"No you don't! Try my Runic Blade!" She raised her sword straight up in the air. The ice was attracted to it, and Celes could feel the magic energy come from the sword into her.

"Ultima!" Everyone except her was knocked unconscious.

She took the orb. Should she kill them? No. She had not been ordered to do so, and had a strange feeling it would be completely wrong for her to do so.

She looked at them. She cast Warp on them. Best to have them out of the way; it was a long walk home, and she didn't want anyone sneak attacking her from behind.

The one in green was staying, though. She had hurt her, and she would pay.

*****

Celes walked into the great hall of Figaro. She bowed and then knelt before Edgar. "My liege, I have brought you the orb."

"Let me see." Edgar quickly took it from Celes. He noticed that some of it had been cut off. "Where is the rest of it?"

Celes reached back into her memory. She could remember something about someone, something that had ot do with this orb. What was it? What couldn't she remember? She replied simply, "I don't know, my liege."

"YOU DON'T KNOW!" Edgar backhanded Celes across the face. "YOU WILL LEAVE THIS CASTLE AND YOU WILL FIND WHAT HAPPENED TO THE REST OF THE ORB OR I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD MOUNTED ON MY WALL!"

*****

Celes felt her face; it still stung. Edgar had had a right to do that, though. How could she be so stupid as to not find out where the rest of the orb was? Edgar was right; she was wrong.

Celes got the chocobo going by kicking it. She would find the rest of that orb; nobody would be safe until she had found it.

*****

FoSoYa, Cid, and Rosa awoke on the prairie outside of Nikeah.

*****

And somewhere near Figaro, a young green-haired girl's body was covered completely by the desert sands.

Finally, Celes raised her head a bit from the ground. "Huh?" she said. "Who?..."

"It's me! Celes, remember? Remember?..."

"Celes, the Emperor has given us leave together! We can go to

Albrook like we planned," Cyrill said enthusiastically.

Celes kissed Cyrill. "That's great news, Cyrill..." But why would

Gestahl have given them leave together, even though it was not

normally scheduled that way. Suspiciously, she asked, "What's the

catch?"

"No catch," Cyrill replied. "Our leaves are just scheduled

together!"

Celes smiled at him. Who was she to argue with a stroke of good

luck? "We'll leave at dawn. Let's get some shut-eye."

"Together?" Cyrill suggested, a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

Celes giggled. "Of course..."

* - * - *

"Magitek?" General Leo asked. "What's that?"

"It is an experimental procedure," replied Gestahl. "If it works,

you will become more powerful. Leo, would you like to volunteer?"

"No, Emperor," said Leo. "I would like to... play it safe."

"I see."

"Sir, I volunteer." This from Cyrill.

"Cyrill?" Celes said, startled. Why would he risk himself in an...

an experiment like this?

"Celes, I know what I am doing," Cyrill reassured her.

"Emperor, why not use a civilian?" Celes suddenly asked Gestahl,

still fearful of what might happen to Cyrill.

"Celes, what's gotten into you? You know we can't use civilians

for experiments!"

* - * - *

"Magitek infusion ready."

"Proceed," ordered Gestahl.

"Yes, sir."

Moments later, a scream echoed throughout the Imperial palace.

"Whaa...?" Celes slowly raised her head, focusing on Cyrill. Then she suddenly leapt to her feet and drew her sword, as if she had simply discarded the effects of her injuries. "Kefka!" she said angrily. "How did you survive, you pathetic piece of shit?"

"It's me, Cyrill," Cyrill said, trying to keep his voice calm.

Celes ran into the laboratory upon hearing the scream - *Cyrill's*

scream - pushing aside the two soldiers at the door. At the same

moment, the scream ceased abruptly. She ran to Cyrill's side,

frantic with worry. Cyrill's face was pale, and he made no sounds

or movements. She looked from Gestahl to the doctor, then, afraid

of what the answer would be, she asked, "Is... he... alive?"

"Yes -" Celes let out a relieved sigh. "- but..."

"But WHAT?"

"He has gone insane," replied the doctor, his voice tinged with

compassion.

At that, Celes broke down. She put her face in her hands, sobbing.

"No, no, no..." she cried.

"I give him a new name..." Celes looked up at Gestahl, amazed that

he could be so serious at a time like this. "'Kefka'... in an old

language, it means 'crazy person'..."

"Cyrill?" Celes said in disbelief. "Cyrill, is it really you?" Then, knowing for certain that it was, she dropped her sword and hugged him.

"Yes! It is, it is," Cyrill replied, and Celes proceeded to fill him in on the events of the past ten years.

* - * - *

"But Edgar kidnapped me, and put a rune on my forehead," Celes said later. "How did you remove it?"

"I had help," Cyril said with a smile.

"KUPOPPO!" came a voice from behind Cyrill. "Celes, you're okay!" The voice's owner stepped out from a corner. Mog. "Kupo, the magic worked!"

"He was given the ability to restore magic. He gave it all up to restore you to sanity," Cyrill explained.

"Well, then," said Celes, turning to Mog. "Thank you, Mog! I owe you my life, I suppose. But Edgar has the Orb that allows him to use magic."

"Kupo. Unfortunately, he won't need it," Mog said sadly. "He told me he was a good guy and I restored his magic..."

"We no longer can defeat him on our own," concluded Cyrill. "We need help, beyond Rosa, Rydia, FuSoYa, you, me, and Mog. We need help."

"Think they bought it?"

"Didn't have a clue. My acting must be improving..." Celes said, a small smirk on her face.

Celes closed her eyes. Her forehead hurt. Somehow, Mog and his moogle buddies had removed the rune from her head. Cyrill, her old flame, had helped the moogles to break this spell. Now she and Cyrill were headed to Nikeah, hopefully to find their friends again.

*****

"Not here..." said Celes as she walked into the now-deserted room at the Nikean inn.

"What do we do now?" Cyrill asked.

"We have to find somebody, something..." Celes thought. She had no clue as to where the others were. It was hard to remember anything; that strange spell hadn't worn off on her mind yet.

"Come on." she said, stepping outside.

*****

Rosa, FuSoYa, and Cid stared at the waves.

"She has to be under some sort of spell. She would never do something like this." Cid said.

Rosa frowned. "Celes starts attacking us, Gogo leaves a message at the inn saying she's cutting out for a while, Rydia is gone, a megalomaniac is in power... what is this world coming too?"

"I'm telling you, Celes is under a spell. Edgar might be too. And it's not as if this is the first time the world has been in danger."

"My husband and I step out of the picture for a few centuries, and the world goes to hell." Rosa summed up her statements bluntly.

FuSoYa spoke now. "Alright, this arguing is getting nobody anywhere. We must assume the worst, that Gogo and Rydia are dead, as are Edge and Golbez. Celes has turned traitor and we've lost the Big Whale. Their empire is still much too strong for us, so we need more help."

"What are the chances that we all come back alive?" Rosa said.

"Actually, they might be quite good. After all, as Sir Arthur Lumina said, 'time flows like a river and history repeats,'" FuSoYa said.

"There's no time for quoting people, we need action," Rosa said.

"And action you will have. We're getting us an airship!"

*****

"Why are we heading back this way? You want to be caught again?" Cyrill asked.

"I have a feeling I'm missing something... like I forgot something..."

Celes suddenly pulled up on the reins of her chocobo. It was that cocky, smart-mouthed ninja, Edge. She dismounted. He ran closer and Celes saw her necklace, and the orb shard hung around his neck. Suddenly anger boiled up inside her.

He was within ten feet of her when Celes suddenly lost control. She drew her sword, jumped at the ninja. Edge was caught off balance, but drew his sword just in time. CLANG! The Rune Sword and the Murasame collided.

"What's this all about?" Edge said, not waiting for an answer. Celes reacted instinctively; if she had been a second slower, her head would have been lying on the ground.

She jumped at Edge, and both swords flew away as they collided. Hand to hand again. That seemed to be happening a lot nowadays.

Cyrill just sat on his chocobo, dumbfounded. He didn't know what to say or do, so he said and did nothing.

They rolled over, and Celes tore the necklace off of Edge's neck. It immediately turned blood red, reflecting her emotion.

They rolled again; this time Edge was on top of her. He punched her in the jaw, then in the stomach. The breath was knocked out of her.

Suddenly Celes stopped struggling. "What... happened to me?"

"Don't try and pull that on old Edgey here, I'm not letting go." A ninja move, and he was on top of Celes, his knee holding both her arms behind her back. He couldn't help but smile as he took his free hands and slammed Celes' head into the burning sand. He grabbed back the necklace. "This is mine now, thanks."

Finally Cyrill acted. He jumped down off the chocobo. He ran up to Edge and hit him so hard and unsuspecting, that Edge was litterally hurled seven feet back.

Edge stood and called out, "Fla..."

"STOP!" Celes cut him off.

*****

Celes gave Edge some more of her rations. He ate quickly and quietly. He was thinking about what she had said. Spells, how they had possessed her to do what Edgar wanted, and how they were still influencing her.

"So where is everyone else? Where's the whale?" Edge asked.

"The Whale fell into the sun..."

Edge gave her a menacing look.

"It wasn't my fault. The airships hit us and knocked out everything. We couldn't respond."

"Where is everyone else?" Edge said, appearntly believing her. Celes knew better. Ninjas never showed their true emotions.

"I don't know. I remember fighting them, casting Exit on them, but I have this strange feeling about Rydia.

"What do you mean?" Edge froze.

He jumped up. Pulled the necklace off from around his neck. "Here. Maybe this'll help you find her. But if I find out that she is hurt bad because of you, next time, you'll pay. And loverboy there won't be able to help you." He angrily threw the shard at Celes.

She caught it. And shrieked.

*****

"Celes?"

Cyrill was kneeling over her. Edge was standing a few feet away.

Suddenly images started to flood her mind. Edgar! The Whale! Locke! Rydia! her full memory returned. The others; she got a strange feeling she knew exactly where they were going.

"Edge!" She jumped up. "Rydia's in trouble, she's lying somewhere about a mile north of here. Find her and take care of her. Come on, Cyrill, we've got a job to do..."

"Hey, wait." He ran to catch up.

*****

South Figaro. Celes rode her chocobo straight to the docks. "I need a ship, by order of Emperor Edgar." She showed the dockhand a piece of paper written by Edgar.

"Yes, ma'am. I'll find one for you right away," the man said.

*****

"Tell me again why we're heading to a tiny island out near the Veldt?" Cyrill asked.

"Because I noticed that FuSoYa had a large map of a very small island. There has to be some reason for it. I think there might be something else from the past down there, and we have to get to it before the trail goes cold," Celes said.

"If you say so," Cyrill said.

Minutes passed; the two said nothing to each other. "You don't feel anything, do you?" Cyrill asked.

"What?"

"I mean, you don't feel anything with me anymore, you've found another..."

"No..." She paused, thought of Locke. "Not exactly. I still feel something Cyrill, it's just, we've been apart for so long, I thought you were dead."

"S'ok. All I want is another chance," Cyrill said.

"Alright, another chance you have. Make the best of it."

He smiled, "I'm going to bed."

"'Kay."

Cyrill turned away and frowned. At one time Celes would have come with him...

"Cyrill..."

He turned around. "Yes?"

"It's not over between us. Not yet. Not until I sort out my feelings."

He smiled a little. "Alright." He turned and went downstairs.

"And get up early tomarrow," she called. "We're going treasure hunting."

They had come from a secret passage in a small cave they had found when they got to the island. They had now been journeying for more than an hour.

"Are we going to stop soon?" Cyrill asked.

"Quit your whining... wait, up ahead..."

Celes and Cyrill walked into a huge cavern. It was lit magnificently by torches, but the crowning achivement sat in the center: an old airship.

It was smaller, more compact then Setzer's had been; appearently the older airships were made for fighting, not comfort.

Celes read the huge red-painted letters on her port side: FALCON. She walked toward it and stopped. Singing, she heard singing.

She climbed the gangplank, and found a blond-haired man, no older than 30, sitting in the middle of the airship, his fingers expertly plucking on a harp. Down by his knee was another harp, exactly the same. Twin harps. Even more amazing was that the second harp's strings were moving without anyone plucking them. It was as if it mimicked the playing of its sister twin.

Amazing. This person was special. FuSoYa knew the location of this airship, maybe he knew the this person too. Suddenly, his fingers started a tune, a fast, upbeat tune.

And he started to sing:

"When all the land is peaceful, And there is no real threat to us at last, Then comes a time for love, To hearts colliding into one great hymn."

His voice was magnificent. Beautiful...

"But there are winds foreboding, And there is a dark storm that soon will pass, Kiss me my love, then go, the time for valor has returned again.

All through the night, keep marching on..."

He paused for a half-second.

"Fighting! Through the darkness, All is evil, still we must press on.

Friendship! Forged in battle, Watch your backs now, take heed."

He had sang "Fighting" and "Friendship" louder than the other words. The harp sounded wonderful with his voice, seemingly mimicking it.

He spent a half-minute in what seemed like a bridge...

"Come back to me..."

A short pause. The rest of the song flowed out of his mouth, the words coming right after another; he put emphasis on the first words again.

"Fighting! Through the darkness, all is evil, still we must press on.

Flying! Toward the power, that enslaves us, yet we are not done.

Racing! Toward the climax, of the battle, to return to love.

Valiant! 'Ganst the power, evil forces, take heed!"

Two strings... he ended it.

Celes smiled, she wasn't going to start this meeting with a fight.

She walked right onto the deck... clapping. The young man looked up, startled.

"That was very good!"

"Thank you..." He put his harp down. "Who are you? And what are you doing here?"

"I'm Celes Chere." She paused. Saying the wrong thing could get her into a fight again. "FuSoYa sent me."

The man jumped up. "FUSOYA!"

Jackpot! "Yes. I don't know where he is right now, but he sent me to get this airship," Celes said.

"Hmmph. I get stuck down here in stasis for a few centuries... I think, how long has it been? And then I don't have any idea what's going on. Is the world in trouble again? Why does FuSoYa want the airship? Are the rest of my friends still around? Who is? Anyone?"

"To answer your questions: More than 1000 years, yes, I don't know, yes, about a half-dozen, yes," Celes said. "Oh Cyrill, you can come up now."

Her old lover finally stepped onto the deck of the airship. "Cyrill this is... what's your name?"

"Edward, King Edward."

"So many kings start with 'E' these days. Edward, this is Cyrill, Cyrill, Edward."

"How do you do? Well, if FuSoYa wants the airship, we better get her fired up. I wonder if she still works?"

*****

Cid, FuSoYa, and Rosa got off the boat. "The entrance should be around here somewhere..."

"You leave a few-ton airship unguarded for centuries and you *think* it'll still be here?" Cid was still upset over what happened with Celes.

Then the ground started rumbling. The earth exploded! And the airship Falcon flew again.

"Hey everyone! Look at me!" Celes called out from high above, forgetting they wouldn't know how she had changed.

They landed the airship; it was still covered with various pieces of rock and other things.

"Edward!" Rosa cried.

They lowered the gangplank, and stepped down. FuSoYa immediately took up a defensive posture.

"Oh... I forgot... I have a lot of explaining to do..."

*****

"Alright. Since were all together again, this is how we'll get it to work. Cyrill, you head to Doma, try to rally the soldiers there."

Cyrill nodded.

"Rosa, you, Celes, and I will head aboard the airship."

Both Celes and Rosa nodded.

"Edward we're going to be needing more people. Somewhere out there are Golbez, Cecil, and Edge. You need to find them."

"Sure!" Edward gave FuSoYa the 'thumbs up' sign.

"Alright, people, let's get to work. You all have your jobs to do."

Celes, Rosa, and FuSoYa got aboard the Falcon. Edward and Cyrill headed for the boat.

*****

Rosa smiled as she saw Edward and Cyrill sail the boat away.

"We're going to win. I can feel it."

"Hold on, girls, I'm taking her up," FuSoYa said.

And The Falcon flew again!