"Lord Edgar?" the guard asked.

"Bring me twenty women from the town!" shouted Livouf.

The guard raised his eyebrow. "Isn't that a bit many, even for your Highness?"

"Just bring them!"

***

The women entered, confused, and Livouf gestured for the guard to leave. He began chanting.

"Loes nicrom

Togas tikta.

Ima sheenan

Balas dikta."

A green light enveloped the women, and they dropped to the ground dead. The green light formed into a black pearl. Livouf grabbed a knife and a golden bowl from his bedside table, and began to chant again.

"Somar sangre

Timas olan.

Iyak mitra

Shoran ikan."

As he chanted, he drew the knife along his forearm, biting deep into his muscle. Blood gushed into the container. He dropped the black pearl in, and then pulled himself free from the body of Edgar.

Edgar began to sob on the floor, as memories of what he had done flashed through his mind. Livouf ignored him, and lowered himself into the blood. He felt his power magnify.

"From the Dark World, bring me Sithon!" The torches in the room simultaneously went out. Screams filled the city of Figaro, as the people died. It took a great deal of blood power to cast the spell; Livouf spared soldiers, he would need them, but not villagers. And before him the world began to shimmer.

It looked like a reverse X-Zone, a fold in space, as Sithon came forth. Roughly the size of a large human, Sithon had pale white skin and a mane that cascaded to the floor. His eyes were red, and his lips onyx. He was clad in only a breech-cloth, and he stumbled forward, confused.

Livouf turned towards Edgar, and prepared to re-enter him.

"NO! Never again!" shouted Edgar, leaping out of his window. An audible crunch followed as he hit the ground, but he dragged himself up, and kept running.

"DAMNATION!" thought Livouf, realizing that Edgar still had the Orb, and his vaunted attributes. He turned towards Sithon, Lord of Demons, and realized that a host was readily available. Things were working out better already.

He oozed into Sithon as he had Edgar, and basked in his new power. He was invincible! Bring on Typhon! With the combined forces of a DemonLord and a Magi, no one could stop him! And the Demon's dark powers linked him to the Dark World, giving him an infinite source of power.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

A single rider fled the stables, his hair pitch black and his eyes red. Edgar was fleeing madly towards South Figaro.

"Oh, goddess," he moaned softly, "how can I hope to repent? How can one do penance for the death of thousands? How can one as evil as I turn back to the Light?" He cried into the coarse wool of the robe. "I can never truly return. I have crossed too far into the Shadow. But I can bring the others to Hades with me. Those demons I summoned! They will be the first. I must destroy Takar! I will kill you, Takar! Do you hear me?" screamed Edgar into the empty street.

"Sir?" asked a young boy, rushing over to Edgar. "What is the matter, sir?"

Edgar looked up, and as he did his hood fell from his face.

"EDGAR! It is the Demon!" The boy kicked Edgar in the face, then sprinted down the street screaming for help. Edgar contemplated silencing him, then cried again. "Never again!" Edgar clutched the Orb of Magic and spoke, "Vanish." He disappeared from the street, casting only a faint shadow on the cobblestone road.

"Where is he?" shouted an armored man. "Damn you, Edgar! Show your face! You killed my family hiding in your evil citadel, but I will have revenge! For the people of Doma!" Edgar recognized the man as a Doman sentinel, probably from Ambassador Masini. Another blight on Edgar's name.

Edgar sprinted down the street, faster than any human, perhaps faster than an Esper. He paused, not to rest, for he hardly needed rest any more, but to survey his surroundings. A building marked Cafe rose to his left. He could never enter there. Another with only a crystal on its sign, boarded up, stood farther to his left. He again turned down the idea of taking refuge there.

Suddenly an awful odor filled the air. "Demon!" thought Edgar, unsheathing the Shadow Blade. He watched as an old friend walked down the street. Keyla's father! "Oh god, have I killed his daughter too? Is the demon stalking him?" thought Edgar to himself, ignoring the obvious truth.

The old man froze and sniffed the air. "Perhaps he smells it too?" He turned in Edgar's direction, and charged forward, shifting as he ran. A huge wolf took Edgar down, unsheathing him from Vanish, and opening numerous wounds along his chest. "The Demon!"

Edgar swung the Shadow Blade across its head, but watched as the weapon did no good. He threw it away, and drew a dagger from his boot. "Beast," he hissed, "you have lived your last day."

"Master Takar?" exclaimed the monster, turning into its humanoid form.

"Forgive me, I did not sense your..." Edgar plunged the dagger into its chest and leapt back. The blow did little harm. "So it is truly Edgar, King of Figaro. We shall see which of us is the better now, pawn of Darkness."

"Yes, we shall," replied Edgar. He crouched and leapt forward, tackling the mighty demon. But he was a mortal, and it was an Otherworlder. It grabbed him easily and hurled him into a wall.

"You never were anything without Takar," laughed the Demon. "Now we shall finish this." The Demon changed into a hideous parody of a man: eight arms, scales across its body, hollow eyes. It was larger than the Figaran King; it hissed with glee. "Drop the dagger, mortal." Edgar dropped it.

"Me versus you, Demon. We shall see who is the better indeed." Edgar began to circle the monster. He wasn't sure which of them was stronger, but he was faster, and he hoped smarter.

The Demon lunged at him, its arm oozing and becoming a chain which struck at Edgar's head. Edgar ducked and kicked it in the chest. His foot sunk in, as he watched in horror. Its chest slowly began a massive mouth, and it bit into his calf.

"You cannot win, Mortal." The Demon hurled him by the foot, rending hunks of flesh as it released. Edgar landed and cast Cure2. His wounds closed.

"We shall see." Edgar lifted the Orb aloft and spoke, "Ultima!" A huge corona of expanding blue light enveloped the Demon. It laughed maniacally as the attack faded, leaving the demon healed.

"Merton!" shouted Edgar, cascading waves of fire upon the monster. Nothing happened.

"I told you. Now I shall strike you dead." The creature slowly began to change into a mass of churning fangs and claws.

"Ice3!" screamed Edgar, watching sheet upon sheet of ice surround the monster. It stopped. It froze. And it began to die. Edgar returned the Orb to his cloak and looked at the frozen monster. "Just like Tritoch." He turned and began to walk away. He heard moaning from within the block of ice.

"I... am... not... I cannot... die... I will... not... I... shall... not... DIE!" The Demon burst forth and landed inches away from Edgar. He pulled out the Orb but the Demon tossed it into the street. "I warned you, Edgar. I am too strong for you!"

Edgar closed his eyes and thought of all of the deaths he had caused. All of the misery. As he struck forward, he struck out against what he had been, what Livouf Takar had made him. The Demon's eyes grew wide as it felt the force of the impact. It moaned as a hole was ripped through its chest.

Edgar dove and grabbed the orb. "Goodbye, Demon. Ice3. Ice3. Ice3." Edgar exhausted the last of his magic, but watched satisfied as a veritable glacier engulfed the shape-shifter. "Heh. It though it was good, but I showed it. You are next, Livouf. You made me, and I will unmake you." Edgar walked away as the ice receded, leaving a frozen puddle of lifeless ooze in its wake.

"Demon!" she heard. Everyone in town was gathering somewhere in a hurry. Wondering what was going on, she went to look at what they were talking about, and hid in a shadow. She saw Edgar fighting some strange demon. He was holding an orb and... was that Ice3? Was Edgar casting magic? Maybe that explained how she Morphed, but the Morph would have lasted longer and not used the Pendant.

The town fled from the sight of Edgar fighting, and he began walking slowly, sullenly. Terra followed him for a while, and after ascertaining he was no longer a threat, if ever.

"Hello, Edgar!" she said. He whirled around. She was shocked at finally getting a closer look at him. He looked like he had been through fifty hurricanes without any shelter.

"Terra!" He said. He wasn't sure what to say.

"What... what happened?" she asked.

"Well... it's a long story. It all started on the airship after we defeated Kefka..."

He ran until he neared the closest tree, then pulled his sword defensively. It would do to proceed cautiously.

"Probably just Tucker messing with those strange weapons of his..." The full moon shed helpful light upon the situation, but failed him as he entered amongst the trees. There it was again... it sounded like... He drove to the left just as a fireball ripped past him, igniting a tree behind him. That was close, too close.

Quickly regaining his footing, Cecil surveyed the scene. Ahead, in the middle of a ring of trees, was Tucker battling some form of spirit creature wreathed in eerie blue flame.

"You shall not have the Spirit Helm, metallic one. it is for the one of light and dark," Cecil heard a booming voice in his head, and could tell that it was directed to Tucker.

"I don't want the damn Helm, whoever you are, I just wanted to sleep on that bed of pine needles and admire the stars, something that can't be done where I come from." Tucker's voice had an annoyed tone to it. In truth, that was all he had wanted.

"Enough, rogue! You bar thy mind from me, and thus I cannot believe you." With that the spirit dissipated and Tucker thought he was free. Until, that is, it reappeared as a mist around him.

Cecil started to run to Tucker's aid, but some invisible force held him at bay. His limbs would not do what his mind told them.

Cecil stared in horror as Tucker disappeared. "TUCKER!" he yelled, but no words escaped his lips.

"Now for you, intruder, do you wish to open thy mind to me, or shall I send you far away as I did the previous rogue?" The voice again came to him from somewhere in his mind. "Yes, I can speak to you through telepathy. Now open your mind or suffer the same fate as your friend."

He really had no choice. This spirit, whatever it was, held him completely in check. "But how?" Again, no words came from his lips, yet he knew the spirit heard him.

"Will it to be so."

Cecil did as he was told.

"WHAT? It cannot be! But how? How? I thought you were dead in ancient times past!" The voice was shocked and hurried now.

Another voice joined the conversation before Cecil could respond with questions of his own, a familiar voice. "Cerebratan, you guard the shield in waiting for him, yet you do not accept he is alive? You are smarter than that, my friend."

The fiery spirit's voice now became even more frantic. "Salvatar? Is it you?"

"Yes my friend, and this Cecil is indeed the one we have been waiting for. You knew he would come, we all did."

Cecil now found the chance to speak up. "Uh, what's going on, and could someone let me move again?"

"Salvatar, the spirit of the shield, responded. "Cerebratan, let him go. He's who we are to help." He "turned" to Cecil, "Sorry, Cecil. He's too logical to see that you're the one of light and dark sent to save us. He's one of the spirits, specifically the one of the Spirit Helm."

"Very well, my mind scan proves it, though logic fails me. Accept my help, great Paladin."

Cecil took off his Dark Helm almost instinctively, and the Genji Medallion started pulsing again. The spirit Cerebratan stood motionless as the Helm he guarded and Cecil's spun in unison above him, finally coming together as one. Then, he enetered the Spirit Helm.

"Receive my power, Paladin, with this helm."

Cecil placed the Helm upon his head, and everything went black.

The light was quite noticeable. An expanding gate of shimmering green energy, accompanied by the smell of sulfur, engulfed the area mere inches away from Edgar. He drew the Shadow Blade and dropped to a crouch.

Out of the gate flew the so-called King of Baron. Edgar remembered seeing him and mocking him in Figaro. He tackled the strange man and held the Blade to his throat.

"Edgar!" shouted Cecil, kicking Edgar in the chest. Edgar flew back and landed on his feet. He charged Edgar and swung, but Edgar parried with a skill famous for thousands of years.

And so it began. Stroke, counterstroke. Kata and riposte. No blow ever fell. Before Livouf Takar had given Edgar meta-human abilities the fight never would have lasted a minute. Edgar was smart and strong; Cecil was an artist with a sword.

But Cecil had never fought anyone as fast and strong as the new Edgar. And he was still confused from the telepathic contact with Cerebratan. It was only a slight slip, a miscalculation off only by a centimeter.

It was what Edgar had been waiting for. Cecil's sword flew through the air and crashed onto the ground. Edgar held the Blade to his throat.

"Kill me, Edgar. Strike down an unarmed man. You've already killed millions of innocents. What difference does one more make?"

Edgar shuddered and Cecil grabbed his sword and struck up with all his strength. The blow tore into Edgar's unarmored chest and kept going, straight through his ribs and clear into a lung. Edgar looked up and in a fit of coughing smiled.

"At last... I can go... on... take... the Orb... King of Baron..." Edgar still managed a sneer at the name, "... I am dead. Take the Orb... destroy the Blade... and kill Takar for me... kill the Beast..."

"You mean you aren't possessed by Takar?" Cecil was frantic.

Edgar merely smiled. "You never could have known... I..." Edgar erupted in a fit of coughing. Cecil knew that he could have scanned Edgar. He knew he SHOULD have scanned Edgar.

He had killed an innocent. Images of the Village Mist filled his mind. "No! I will not have another head on my conscience!"

"Let me die... damn it! I deserve this much..." Edgar dropped his head to the pavement and began to draw his last breaths.

"No! Hold on, King Edgar! You aren't going to make me carry your death on my shoulders!" He grabbed the Orb off of Edgar and shouted, "Cure Three!"

A blue light enveloped Edgar, accompanied with a flurry of green sparks. And the former King of Figaro lived again.

"Damn it, King of Baron! Give me that Orb!"

"Here, your Highness. And call me Cecil."

"Fine, Cecil. But if you EVER save me again without my permission..." Edgar trailed off with a threat in his eyes.

"I won't. But I'm not going to let you die so easily. Not until you've paid your penance. Not until you've paid back Livouf Takar."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Cecil."

And so the two great Kings became allies and prepared to give Livouf Takar the biggest shock of his life.

*******

"We've been sailing for weeks, and we've seen nothing," I said.

"Don't worry," Cyrill told me, "something will happen soon. I can feel it. Something, anything, will..."

"WHAT IS THAT!"

"It's a giant whirlpool! Hold on, we're going in!" _______________________________________________________________________

We awoke in a strange place. I could not remember much of what happened. Cyrill seems not to remember either. Where are we? It seems somewhat familiar, as if I had been here before...

********

"Oh! Doctor, our visitors are awake," said a strange voice.

"That's good, it shows that they're recovering," replied the doctor.

"Where are we? What is this place?" I asked.

"Why, you're in the underground Dwarf Castle," they replied in unison.

"How did we get here? More importantly, how do we get out?" Cyrill asked.

"We don't know how you got here, but why would you want to leave so soon?"

"I just remembered! My friends, Cecil, Cid, Rosa, and Rydia, saved this place from disaster about a thousand years ago."

"Cecil, the great warrior of light? The one who saved our planet? He left something here, all those years ago. We have not been able to figure out what it is, nor how it works," the doctor said.

"Take us to it, maybe I can clear up some of the confusion."

*******

"It's the Enterprise!"

"The Enterprise? What's that?" the doctor asked.

"It's an airship."

"An airship! We have heard great legends of these, such as the Big Whale," the doctor said.

"Do you mind if we take it? We are looking for Cecil, and this would greatly help us in our search."

"I will ask our king immediately."

*******

"Yes! Yes, you can take it. It belongs to the warrior of light, and you are his friend. Besides, what use would we have of an airship? We are underground," the king said.

"Thank you. This will greatly aid us in our search. We will find some way to repay you."

"Also, take this. It is a lute my daughter made. She is a fine craftsperson of string instruments. It has great powers over monsters."

"I thank you greatly again. We must be off now. We must find our friends, and help make the world a better place. The only way I can repay you now is with a song:

List how the singer sings his lay!

The scent of flowers and shining dreams

Drift through rosy realms of space

Towards some golden far-away,

Blessed, heavenly far-away!

Where iridescent rainbow gleams,

Flower petals hang in veils like lace.

O childish heart, so full of love,

You long to be like turtledove,

To bill and coo and peck and patter

Where no one sees and 'tis no matter

All this is in the singer's lay.

He sings the blissful far away,

And drifts with his dreams through heavenly space

Where starlight knits a golden lace.

Eternal longing fills his breast,

He sings his song at love's behest.

The flames of love that blaze within

Set his poor, heated brain a-spin.

Out of the world and out of time

He puts his burning thoughts in rhyme.

Celes checked herself. She still had all her limbs, which was good, and her sword, which was also good. The orb shard still hung from around her neck. She smiled. She would just wait out that battle, and jump in at an unexpected time.

She tried some swimming strokes. She found that she didn't stop moving, and pretty soon she was laughing as she "swam" at more than 55 mph.

She slowed herself to a stop. "Time to get back."

"WARP!"

*****

Parry, parry, thrust, thrust... Celes watched one king battle another. She couldn't help but almost laugh. Cecil was obviously the better swordsman, but Edgar was the smarter and faster of the two. "Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee," someone had once said. Cecil was stinging pretty well, but Edgar was the obvious flier of the two.

Celes had been watching Edgar since he had started to repent this morning against whatever controlled him. Whatever was now sitting in his throne in his castle in his desert in what should be their world. But it was not their world anymore. Someone like Kefka had come again, and it was time for them to be destroyed.

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP! You could hear the sword going right through Edgar's chest. Got his lung too... horrible. She considered intervening, but stopped when Cecil picked up the orb.

It was not a minute later that they were laughing and congratulating each other on their swordsmanship. Celes jumped down from the building she was on, and started to clap.

"Good show, boys. Maybe you could go on the road with me. Can either of you sing?"

"Celes?!" Edgar ran toward her, but stopped short. "I thought you were dead."

"Lesse... betrayal... murder... killing... slaughter... sabotage... evil ruler.. end of the world... thousand years in the past... calling monsters... lots of guys supposed to be dead... betrayal again... X-Zone... dwarfs... Lali-ho... Kupo... airships... whales... sorry, no death anywhere." Celes smiled.

"You've been busy, m'lady." Edgar was already starting to sound like his old self.

Just then, music started somewhere...

"I'm gonna revive, When I am, on the road. I got nowhere to hide, When I am, on the road."

Edward's voice. Seemed like it was time for his grand entrance.

"There's no use in wondering what, Made you feel like parting from me then, girl. How many more tears must I shed, So as to melt the frigid walls of time?"

A VERY grand entrance...

"So I'm gonna break it, Have no fear, on the road. You know I'm sure to make it, No matter what's, on the road."

"I know too well it's very hard, It's just barking for the silver moon. But I don't care how long it takes, So long as she lights up my way in the gloom."

Edward stepped into view.

"Until the very moment, When I see you again. I'll keep speeding along the road to the sun, The burning sun!"

"And so I've come this far, I'm nearly round the bend. Searching for the love that we did share, There's no one who can stop me now."

The music died away as Edward's practiced hands stopped moving.

"It's good to see you again, Cecil." Edward smiled.

"Hey, Ed! I thought I'd never see you again." Cecil was overjoyed to find another of his companions back from the grave. "The king and the prince meet again."

"Hey... I'm a KING too, now!" Edward boasted, sounding like Edgar.

Cyrill appeared, somewhat lack-lusterly. "You people are much too dramatic."

Celes smiled. "That's what separates the veterans from the rookies, kid."

*****

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Just minutes ago, Edgar had told himself he would never be setting foot inside this saloon again, yet here he was.

"Stop your whining. I'm using magic to change your appearance. You look like a twenty-five-year-old man with a beard."

"I AM a twenty-five-year-old man, and the way I've been taking care of myself, I probably have a beard."

"Complaints, complaints..." Cyrill bickered.

"Magic has really changed, huh?" Cecil asked Edward.

"Really changed? However did you notice?" Edward joked.

The five-some slipped into the back of the bar.

"All right. What do we do?"

"Do? About what?"

"I've got a mind to take out Takar right now, without him getting a chance to stop us."

"Bad idea. I WAS him. I felt his power, and we're nowhere near that level. Kefka wasn't even close."

"So what do we do?"

"There are still four airships in Takar's army. Let's take one out."

"No way. Last time I sabotaged something a certain person, who shall remain nameless, caught me, put a rune on my head, forced me to fight my friends and then tried to kill me..."

"Does anyone here know who could have done that?"

"Come on, guys. I've told you, I'm on your side now..."

"All right. Let's take out an airship, but we're doing it from the air."

"How?"

"The squadron flies every fifth morning. The next time they fly is tomorrow. We'll take them on then."

"They have the two stronger ships and the two faster ships still left and you want to fight them?"

"The lead ship is gone. I think maybe we could rush in, take out one of the stronger ones, and then try and find some way to outrun the quicker ones."

"I think I know how we can do that?"

"Ah! Master planner Cecil comes up with another suicide plan..."

"Just be quiet, and listen..."

*****

"I feel stupid." Edgar looked at the sacks behind them.

"Don't worry. If I were you, I'd feel stupid too." Cyrill was starting to sound more and more like a pro every day.

"Come on... let's lift off..."

*****

"Flight test was satisfactory, everyone. Head back to the base."

"Yes, si... Sir, there's a ship approaching. It looks like the lead ship."

"But that was destroyed..."

"Look for yourself..."

"They're at battle stations. Get ready to attack. Send the message to the others."

"All hands, battle stations..."

*****

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The first volley was away. The lead ship was immediately torn in two.

"We've got our one. Now let's hope they don't get theirs. Get us out of here."

The Enterprise pivoted. And started flying away from the remaining three ships.

The remaining class B ship fired at them. Most of its shots fell short. The few that hit weren't that bad. Now the two class C ships were following them.

"They're gaining!" Edward called.

"Cecil, this plan better work."

"It will. There's a cloud, take us in..."

"Alright, I've opened the hatch. We just sent all that salt out. Why we're dumping tons of salt on a cloud is anyone's guess, but..."

The cloud began getting thicker.

"What's happening?"

Cecil smiled. "See, you people have your technology and your little city-states and you're happy, but you have no idea what went on in the old days..."

"Stop showing off and tell what happened."

"It's an old technique, called 'Cloud Seeding'. You people haven't discovered it yet, but we did. We found that pouring salt into clouds makes them create a lightning storm and rain within seconds."

"And fog up..."

"Exactly, so now they have to break pursuit. They can't see us and are in danger of getting electrocuted."

"So are we!"

"No, I told you, I had this all calculated. Watch..." He closed his eyes for a few seconds and started counting. "... 5... 4.... 3... 2... 1... now!"

Just as he said "Now!" they emerged into sunlight.

"Get us out of here!"

"See? Safe and sound. Who's the man?"

"Me," Edgar whispered to himself, with a smile...

*****

"Wonder where the Whale is?" Cecil asked himself as he curled up in his cabin below deck.

*****

"Wonder where Cecil is?" Rosa asked herself. She wasn't worried; it was common for Cecil to do something like this.

She climbed out of bed and went to the Whale's hatchway. She opened it, and sat down.

"Somewhere... out there...."

*****

Cecil walked above deck, thinking of Rosa, and stared out into the stars. "Someone's thinking of me, and loving me, tonight..."

"Hey Ed, come over here by the fire," Celes shouted over. Edgar stared back, a solitary tear running from his eye. He could never live with people again.

"Friends... I must go now. My life was not meant to be one with yours. I have something I must finish."

Celes stared at him and said, "You aren't going after Takar, are you?"

"I never could lie to you, Celes," said Edgar, walking towards her. "Goodbye. Remember me as I was... before..." Edgar clutched the Orb and spoke, "Warp."

***

Edgar appeared in a hallway filled with mockeries of life. Demons twisted beyond human imagination. But Edgar was no longer human. When he struck down the Shape-Shifter, he absorbed part of its power. A remnant of Takar's blood power.

Edgar's body oozed and became a grotesquity. "Makras! Pinok!" The demons scurried away, as Edgar ordered them to move or die.

He strode down the hallway and grabbed a lone demon. "Charm." "Tell me where Takar is."

"He is in the Throne Room, master." The demon was quivering in terror.

"Kill any demon you see." Edgar spoke Warp again and found himself in the Throne Room.

***

"Hello, Edgar," said Sithon, staring at the pitiful human. He stroked a child's skull.

"Monster. I shall destroy you!" Edgar drew the Orb. "Merton!" A wave of fire destroyed the throne and punched a huge hole in the wall. Sithon stood floating in the air.

"I am invincible. I am impervious to Fire. I will not kill you, Edgar. I need a new throne. You will gather for me the children's skulls. You will kill them each with your bare hands before their parents. I will corrupt you so far into Shadow..."

"Silence, Demon! I carry within me the mean of your destruction!" Edgar fingered the Orb, preparing his final maneuver.

"Ha. What are you going to try? I am too strong. Attack at will, boy."

Edgar searched through his memories during the time Takar had possessed him. "Ima soru." Edgar and Takar disappeared from the Earthly dimension, leaving Sithon alone in the throne.

***

The room was a swirling field of energy. Flashes of light filled the sky, and only Takar and Edgar were there, floating, in the vacuum.

"You are stronger than I thought, boy. But I am a Magi."

"You are nothing. I am everything you have ever been and more. I WILL destroy you. For everything on Earth, you WILL NOT RETURN!"

"Very well, let us do battle."

Edgar's and Livouf's magical selves floated from their bodies and stared off. Edgar's soul was a crimson red, but Takar's was blacker than pure shadow.

It would have brought tears to the hardest heart to watch the battle. Edgar fought with the strength of one hundred men, slashing, hacking, and battling his way forward. Takar was weak. He had been a parasite, but he had not praticed magic in a long time.

Edgar was winning. He had sent Takar back great distances, only sustaining a few blows himself. But then Takar struck. He blasted Edgar's physical form with Merton, leaving Edgar stranded out of his body.

"NOOO!!!!!!!" screamed Edgar. He dove into Takar's body and they both exploded in a flash of light.

As he contemplated, he saw Edgar disappear.

"Celes! Did he... NO!"

Edgar had done what Cecil feared... he had gone to take on Takar.

"He's not ready! He'll destroy himself in the effort! DAMN!" He was not about to carry on his conscience Edgar's death if he died. He would not let Edgar die...

Telepathically, he contacted the spirit of his helm. "Cerebratan, can you do that teleport thingy again, only send me where Edgar went?"

"Paladin, it will take time to locate the one called Edgar, but it is possible."

Minutes passed, and Cecil waited impatiently.

"Cecil, what's wrong?" Celes was trying to find out what had happened to Edgar, and why Cecil seemed to be talking to himself.

"Celes, I don't have time to explain..."

The spirit finally spoke again to Cecil. "Cecil, he is in the throne room of the Takar. If I take you there, it will be hours before I have enough power to make a return teleport. The demons there are powerful, even for a Paladin as thyself. You have not the means to destroy them, for the Guardian Spirit is housed not in your sword as of yet. I sugg..."

"My friend's in danger, and I don't give a damn what my chances are. I must try and prevent his foolishness!"

"As you wish, one of Light and Dark."

Cecil heard Celes scream as everything went blindingly white.

******************

When his vision returned, Cecil was in a throne room that housed a throne of skulls. The place was even blacker than his Obsidian Armor, and it eerily reflected the pulsating glow of his Spirit Shield and Helm. He arrived in time to see Edgar disappear with Takar...and also in time to see the demon Sithon rise from the throne.

The room housed a few lesser demons, and Cecil cursed his stupidity. He really wasn't ready to fight ALL of them at once, especially not with the sword he had.

But he didn't need to. The attention of every inhabitant of the room, including his own, was fixed upon the ghostly duel that took place. Oblivious to everything but each other, Takar and Edgar duelled, with Edgar gaining the upper hand. Takar had become a pitch black shadow, while Edgar seemed crimson.

The battle waged on, Edgar finding his mark with spells and sword more than Takar, but it wasn't enough. The scream that ripped the air as Edgar's body became a smoldering husk from Merton was sickening. Still, somehow, Edgar's spirit fought on, his husk of a body crashing through the dimensions to come at rest upon the floor of the throne room.

Then all went white and the two figures were gone.

"EDGAR! NO! EDGAR!" Cecil ran to the smoldering cinder that had been Edgar; the stench pervaded his nostrils. The Orb fell from the rift in dimensions as the room became silent. Cecil cradled the body of his fallen comrade. But time was not something Cecil had at the moment.

Sithon's voice pierced the Air. "Fiends, it seems we have an intruder amongst us. Dispose of him." The demons swarmed in while Cecil's mind raced with options.

"Well, I guess this is my fate, then..." Cecil pulled his sword, knowing what little good it would do him.

The first demon, a twisted cross of bull and dragon with spittle of acid, charged him. Cecil struck out, not with his sword, but rather with his shield. The beast screamed as the holy powers of the shield seared its flesh. Maybe he couldn't kill them, but at least he could do some damage before he...

Wait, the Orb! "Of course!" Grabbing the Orb and Edgar's body while the demons were distracted by their comrade's distress, Cecil shouted, "EXIT!" The world spun and he lost consciousness.

"Guys, I can't take this anymore. I'm going to bed..."

"Worried?"

"About what?"

"I know you are, about Edgar..."

"Hey, don't worry about him. In the morning he'll come crawling back, wanting our help..."

"It's just th- ohhhhh!" Celes fell to the deck.

"Celes!" The others ran to her side.

"P-pain, incredible burning shearing pain..."

"From who? What?"

"Edgar... We have to help him..."

Then, in a flash of light, Cecil appeared in front of them, carrying Edgar's body. His face told them all they needed to know.

*****

Celes looked up at the morning sun. It didn't seem bright or cheerful anymore. Over the past week she had spent in Figaro, she thought about a great many things. Strangely, most of them didn't concern Edgar. She had thought about her own life, of Edgar's and about the world. She thought of the Magical Beings. She didn't understand any of it. Goddess, Doom, Poltergeist. Right, Wrong, Neutral. Life, Death, Undead. Light, Darkness, In-between. That's where humans had gone wrong. Cecil was right, they had their technology and their lives and they were happy. They thought nothing of improving themselves. They even had built their machines, things with great potential, with the same mistakes as they had. Goddess, Doom, Poltergeist. Three things. Fools that we are, we only use half the formula. Zeros and ones operate machines. Ons and offs. Nothing in the middle, nothing to keep it balanced. Humans were the same way. Black and White, Right and Wrong. There is no gray, there is no neutral. That was their mistake. They stayed away from the wrong and lived in the right. They never tried to cultivate the neutral to make more right, instead they just were content with what they were. Yin and Yang, but no neutral. Without neutral there is no even. Edgar had been possesed, and had become evil, but he tried so hard to be good. In the end, he had alienated himself. He had become neutral to himself. That was what drove him to take on the suicide mission...

That was why the world was changing. Evil can never overtake good, however, it can corrupt neutral. It did so and now there is more evil than good, and that was what sent Kefka to destroy the world. That was what made Takar destroy hundreds, kill so many...

Cyrill walked up behind her. "Celes..." he whispered, not wishing to alarm her.

"Cyrill, we need to get back to the Whale. That's where we belong..."

*****

Celes looked around people everywhere. One person was on a stage, it seemed. The rest were huddled around, listening. "We need a leader... Surely you have all heard of Takar's death... Well, since Sabin is missing and Edgar is dead, I propose that Ed Fadil, the leader of Figaro's biggest corproation, Cal Tech, lead us. He is a natural born leader. He started out as a peasant without a gold to his name, but has grown. And so Figaro will grow, under his leadership."

The people started cheering. Celes suddenly became enraged. This Ed Fadil didn't belong as a leader! This man wasn't chosen! She turned and pushed through all the people. She jumped up on stage. "NO!"

The man turned to her. Guards rushed up, ready to seize her. But the man suddenly waved them off. The crowd quieted. "Who are you?"

"Celes Chere."

"And what is your occupation? What say do you have in this?"

"I am a warrior, and King Edgar's friend. I speak out against your nomination."

The man handed Celes an odd contraption. "Go ahead. Let's hear what you have to say..."

"Alright. Alright." The crowd hushed.

"Woe is us, people. Woe is us that King Edgar died. Do you know why? Because you people..." She motioned to the crowd. "are listening to me right now. You people and many many more people will learn of this nomination within days, due to word of mouth, and other things... And that is why woe is us that King Edgar died. You see, people like us -" She motioned to the man. "- we lie like hell. We'll tell you any shit you want to hear. We'll tell you that the Veldt is a good place for a picnic. We'll tell you that nobody ever beat Kefka, that he's still alive. We'll tell you that dragons are harmless, and don't worry... no matter how much trouble the hero is in, just look at the sun, by the end of the hour, he'll have won. People like us are the most powerful people in the world. Do you know why? Because, as I found out not too long ago... less than one out of twenty people read books. And less than ten percent of you read newspapers. WE are the most powerful weapons in the universe. Because the monarchy is the most powerful force on the face of this Earth. And when one person has complete control of the most powerful weapon in this whole fuckin' Earth, the world goes to hell." The crowd burst into applause. Celes held up her hand for silence. "Now listen to me, people. Sabin Figaro is somewhere out there. When he is found he will become King. He is the one true king, the only one who can lead you. If you want a leader, you will not look to Ed Fadil, but to that man out there... the one true king..." Celes found herself speechless and confused that she had actually said that. She simply tossed the thing back to the man, and stepped off the stage. People started screaming, stomping, whistling.

She reached her friends. "What the hell was that?" Cecil swore for the first time since she had known him.

"I've become a politician..." Celes said to herself.

"HA! Scum of the earth. I have the right to spit in your face now..." Cyrill laughed.

Celes looked at Cyrill sternly. "This isn't funny... come on..."

*****

The Enterprise landed near the Whale. Celes jumped out, talked to Rosa, opened the hatch, and flew the Enterprise inside the Whale.

"Good to see you guys again..."

"We have much to talk about..."

Cecil would never give up on Edgar, though. Trying some spell that a Paladin should know nothing of, Cecil used the Orb and the knowledge passed on to him from Cerebratan to place Edgar's body in a state of eternal suspended animation. He would go on to place Edgar's body in an indestructible magical glass casket as a monument to the one person he could perhaps relate the greatest to. At the foot of the casket, engraved in glowing runes, read the following:

Edgar Figaro,

whose soul was filled so with good,

Who fought and defeated,

But at the great cost of his own life,

The Evil Takar,

So that millions would be free.

Few heroes could live up to the deed he performed,

Especially after the pain he suffered through,

And atone for their wrongs,

Humbly and unselfishly.

May his name live on honorably,

Always,

And may his Legend never die.

Cecil, King of Baron.

Cecil had the shrine built deep in the Virgin Woods south of South Figaro, near all that was good and beautiful, as befit a King. As the years went by, as long as Cecil lived, he vowed to visit the shrine annually on the anniversary of Edgar's death, and cast a Life 2 spell, just in case Edgar felt he would like to return to this world. He went whenever he could during the first few weeks after his death.

<You can finally rest, King Edgar.>

"But... have I redeemed myself?"

<A hundred times over. Never doubt that.>

"Takar?"

<He has gone to a place far beyond. He will never leave there or trouble anyone ever again.>

"Is the world at peace?"

<Earth will not know peace until men are at peace with themselves, King Edgar.>

"Figaro?"

<Soon to be brought back to its glory, King Edgar. The demon who rules there shall be killed, and your name will live on for a long time.>

"As a demon?"

<As a hero.>

And Edgar finally got a chance to rest, and sleep without nightmares or memories.