Normally, Scarecrow would be quite dismayed by his current position. However, he had no time to be dismayed. Footsteps were approaching fast, less than ten feet away by his best guess. Scarecrow rolled to the side, ignoring the pain that lanced through his arm as he did so.

Leaping to his feet, he turned to face whoever it was that was approaching. Even injured as he was, the longsword came smoothly into his left hand as he studied the newcomer.

It was a young man, probably in his early twenties. Garbed in an akward-looking blue robe, he had a stance that showed the robe would probably not slow him down. Blond hair cascaded in waves to his muscular shoulders. But the most interesting thing about him was the blazing fire in his bright blue eyes.

The young man was the first to break the silence. "Who are you?" he asked.

"I might ask the same of you," responded Scarecrow.

"I..." the young man hesitated, holding a hand to his head. "I don't remember. Call me... Tellah." Tellah's eyes narrowed. "Your turn. Who are you?"

"Give me a minute," Scarecrow wheezed. Those ribs were getting more painful by the second.

<Cure!> Scarecrow blinked as nothing happened. The magical energies had just... dissapated. <Cure!> Still no effect. After a moment of hesitation, Scarecrow sheathed his sword and whipped out a potion, which he downed in one gulp. Scarecrow grinned as the healing energies took effect. At least SOMEthing still worked.

"As to your question, some call me Scarecrow. Now... where are we?"

Scarecrow glanced around briefly. It appeared to be night, though the sky gleamed oddly... if it was sky. There was an immense stone tower only a few feet away from where he stood. There was also a key, a translucent crystal, and various other bits of paraphernelia strewn about the ground nearby. Speaking of the ground, it appeared to be made of some type of black crystal, and gave off a faint glow.

Tellah grinned. "I might ask the same of..." He broke off as deep, booming laughter filled the air.

"Well, well, well," the booming voice echoed, seeming to come from everywhere at once. "You survived, eh, Scarecrow?" Laughter rang out again. "Congratulations. You are now one of the only two who have the strength to survive the call of the Void. I must confess I had no idea you were so powerful."

Scarecrow closed his eyes, trying to remember where he had heard the voice before. Come to think of it, he couldn't remember exactly what had happened for the last few hours, and had no idea how it was that he had come to be in this place. The last thing that he remembered clearly was riding on his chocobo... and then... someone had attacked him. Scarecrow held a hand to his head, trying to remember.

"Having trouble remembering things, Scarecrow?" the unseen speaker laughed. "I guess you're not completely immune to the effects of the Void."

"Enough of this foolishness!" Scarecrow responded. "Show yourself!"

"I doubt even you would survive such an experience. But very well, a... physical incarnation." A haze of darkness formed, coalescing into a vaguely human shape. The dark form glanced around a moment before striding slowly to stand before Scarecrow.

"Interesting that all this," the figure broke off to gesture at the odds and ends on the floor, as well as the tower, "all this escaped the Call of the Void. The most interesting things can be found when you Call." The dark shape took a few steps closer.

"And you," it began, gesturing at Tellah. "You most certainly were not in the area I... altered. It will be most interesting finding out just who you are. I am afraid, however, that for the moment, I would like to speak to Scarecrow alone. Good night."

Tellah didn't even have time to move as the gust of wind knocked into him, smashing him back against the wall of the tower. He slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Scarecrow rose one eyebrow from beneath his black mask. "Good. I have a rule about not involving innocents in my work. Now, let's get down to business. First, what should I call you?"

"You, and all other mortals, may call me Master. Whether or not you do now, you WILL call me that eventually."

"I doubt it. Perhaps, instead, you will be the one to call me master. Until then, I will call you Worm."

'Worm' laughed. "Amusing. I don't think anyone yet has had the raw stupidity to insult me. But I suppose it takes courage as well. A highly overrated virtue, I might add."

"Did you come here for a reason, or were you just planning on chatting? I do have better things to do."

The black figure laughed again. "Arrogant, even in the most dire of situations. I like your style, Scarecrow. You have great power, and I can offer you even greater. You have proved yourself stronger than anyone else I have yet to know. And so, I offer you the greatest privelege any mortal has ever been offered. You will stand one step beneath me as together we conquer the world. I will give you all the power necessary to do as you wish. In time, perhaps your power will even grow to equal mine, and we will become partners. I offer you immortality, Scarecrow. I offer you EVERYTHING!" The figure lowered it's voice to a whisper. "I ask only one thing in return. Kneel before me now. Serve me. Think of the power, Scarecrow. You can have it all."

Scarecrow paused a moment before applauding, slowly. "An excellent performance, Worm. I couldn't have lied through my teeth better myself. Perhaps your offer would be better if you actually had everything to offer me. As I see it, you don't even have the power to off one pathetic assassin, much less what is necessary to conquer the world."

"You DARE insult me?" A raging inferno burned in the black figure's eyes. "I have killed men for far, far less! Perhaps you do not realize the precariousness of your situation. You are trapped inside a Black Crystal, with no way to escape short of me. Perhaps you have not noticed, but there is a time shift in effect, and for every second you are in here, hours pass in the outside world. Even if you somehow survived my wrath, you would never escape. You will serve me, or you will DIE!"

Scarecrow paused. "So be it. I serve no man save one." Twin longswords slid out of their sheaths.

The dark one smiled. "Very well, I will play your game." It intoned strange words, and a massive sword of fire appeared in its hand.

They circled each other for a moment, mentally testing each other's defenses. Without warning, Scarecrow closed in, slashing from opposite directions with his two longswords. 'Worm' hopped backward, just out of reach of the slicing blades. It retaliated with a vicious downstroke that Scarecrow stopped only inches from hid face. 'Worm' pressed down harder, straining Scarecrow's muscles to their limit.

"You can't beat me, Scarecrow," the phantasm laughed. "This is only the tiniest portion of my power. I could kill you with a thought. You cannot win."

"Shut up and fight."

"If you insist." 'Worm' added pressure, forcing back Scarecrow's blade, closer and closer to his face. Closer... sweat beaded beneath Scarecrow's mask... closer... Scarecrow's knees buckled, yet he forced himself to remain standing... closer...

"Da'kazo!" Scarecrow shouted as he let himself fall to the ground, pushing with his swords such that the dark figure went sailing over him, and slammed into the tower's wall.

To follow through, Scarecrow used his hands to flip himself backward and into the air, crashing down with two of his knives into the phantasm's chest. That should be more than enough to kill any opponent. Just to be sure, though, Scarecrow slammed his fists against the thing's skull, smashing it to pieces.

Or, that was the intention, anyway. The phantasm's hands stopped Scarecrow's just before they connected. "Did you really think it would be that easy to win, Scarecrow? Not quite." With that, a burst of energy roared into Scarecrow, sending him reeling to the side.

He was on his feet in an instant, but not before the phantasm. Time to change tactics, Scarecrow thought. Before 'Worm' moved, he cut loose with an Aurabolt.

The dark form didn't even attempt to escape the blast. The Aurabolt hit full force, and yet the dark one didn't even move. "You'll have to do better than that, Scarecrow. Something like this, perhaps." A small flame appeared in its hands.

Scarecrow knew better than to stand around. He dove to the side, just in time to avoid the flame thrown at him. He hadn't counted on the flame exploding, however. The blast knocked him even farther to the side, straight into the explosion of another missile. Shot after shot was thrown, detonating with perfect accuracy. When the dust settled, Scarecrow lay on the ground, unmoving.

The black figure smiled. Scarecrow was good, but not that good. It laughed as it gazed around the room. All these interesting things, how had they escaped the Call? Even a young man...

For the first time in a great while, the Master was surprised. The young man had vanished. Where could he...

Tellah crashed down from above him, metal rod clutched in hand. The force of the blow was enough to smash the rod through the self-proclaimed 'Master's head. They crashed to the ground, but only Tellah came back up.

Tellah breathed. It had been a while since he...

Tellah barely had time to react as the phantasm's hands went up, smashing hard against Tellah's skull. Tellah rolled backward, landing against the wall of the tower.

"You dare to attack me? Die, mortal, DIE!"

Tellah struggled to regain a fighting posture as the black figure leaped at him, fiery sword raised. Tellah raised his hands to ward off part of the blow, though he realized what a futile effort that was.

As the sword crashed down, Tellah noticed a quick movement to the side. Just in time, Scarecrow leaped, swinging his sword in a wicked arc that landed deep in the thing's chest. The phantasm fell backward, then rolled to its feet.

For a moment, everyone paused, doing nothing. Then the dark one broke the silence.

"Well, well. The two mortals have decided to join together to attack me. This could be most amusing. However, this battle draws away a small portion of my power, that I have a better use for. Besides, I grow tired of this game. It is time to end it." As it spoke the last words, the black shape made subtle motions with its hands, and the fiery sword glowed with an eerie new light. The phantasm slowly strode forward.

Without warning, Tellah leaped, vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye.

Scarecrow and 'Worm' ignored him, concentrating on each other. 'Worm' made a quick slash, which Scarecrow easily parried...

And then the fiery sword slashed through his longswords. He tried to dive back, but the blazing weapon scored a good hit.

Pain lanced through Scarecrow's chest, and yet he managed to dive aside to dodge another blow. A spit second later, the sword crashed down again, this time cutting deep into his left leg. Scarecrow rolled to the side to dodge yet another strike. The sword flashed down again...

But this time, it met with a solid defense. The Guardian. Sparks rang out as the molten blade dashed against the white glow of the weapon of an ancient warrior. The phantasm blinked in surprise, hesitating for an instant.

An instant was all Scarecrow needed. Pressing his advantage, he knocked the dark one's blade to the side, and drove the Guardian deep into its chest.

Before he even had the chance to make another attack, the phantasm's arms came up, smashing into Scarecrow with force enough to send him sprawling.

Even as Scarecrow struggled to stand, 'Worm' pulled the Guardian from its own chest, holding it up to examine it. "Interesting. Too bad you aren't the actual owner of this weapon. If you were, you might have actually had a chance. A pity." 'Worm' turned it around in his hands, inspecting it carefully. "A weapon like this could conceivably be a danger to me. I think I will destroy it."

The black form began chanting, then raised the sword in the air. Scarecrow was too far away to have any chance of stopping the spell, and noted with despair that his most powerful magic item was about to be destroyed.

And then Tellah came crashing down, burying his weapon in the phantasm's chest. The Guardian sword flew to one side as both Tellah and the dark one went down in a heap.

They wrestled for a moment, but the phantasm's massive strength soon won over, and Tellah was pushed to one side. Tired of Tellah's interference, 'Worm' cast a quick hold spell on Tellah before turning to face Scarecrow.

Scarecrow, who had been moving as fast as his badly bleeding legs would carry him, made one last, desperate leap for the Guardian sword...

In almost he same instant, the phantasm leaped, flaming sword aimed perfectly at Scarecrow's neck...

Scarecrow's hand grasped the sword...

The blazing blade came crashing down...

And the two magical weapons clashed together again, inches from Scarecrow's throat.

The heat of the molten blade so close to his neck neearly caused Scarecrow to black out, and only years of training saved him. He pushed harder, trying to force back the fiery blade...

And, abruptly, the dark figure leaped backward, just out of sword reach.

Scarecrow only had an instant to prepare himself before the onslaught came, his enemy's blade whirling with deadly efficiency, stroke after stroke aimed perfectly to kill him. And yet, stroke after stroke, Scarecrow parried, hands moving with speed even he had not realized he possessed. The dark one's face contorted with impotent rage that Scarecrow was able to survive, and yet the attacks kept coming.

And then, as quickly as the onslaught began, it was over. The black figure drew his sword back, chanting ancient words under his breath.

Wheezing with stress, Scarecrow only barely had time to bring his sword up to parry when his enemy's sword came streaking at him suddenly. Yet, again, Scarecrow parried perfectly.

This time, however, it was exactly what was expected. The two swords crashed together, but the phantasm's blade hit off course. Moving with spellbought speed, the dark one made slight alterations to the motion of his sword, spinning it around Scarecrow's...

... and the Guardian sword came out of Scarecrow's hand, whickering over to land near Tellah. With one fist, the phantasm pounded the disarmed Scarecrow to the ground. It raised it's sword.

"You see, Scarecrow?" the dark one began. "Your weapons are futile against me, and even that sword does you no good. There is no way you can win. And so I give you this last chance: kneel before me now, or in the spirit world!"

Massing up all his remaining energy, Scarecrow stood. When he spoke, determination and raw power were evident in his voice. "I think you will find that I have one more weapon left. The only weapon you have no power against." Slowly, Scarecrow removed the glove of his right hand.

The dark figure stepped back against the crystal wall, fear forming in its eyes for the first time. "It cannot be! Who ARE you?"

Scarecrow said nothing, only approached. The figure lashed out with his fiery blade, but Scarecrow was unscathed. A light flashed as Scarecrow drew back his hand. "In memory of what was lost," Scarecrow whispered, low enough that not even his opponent heard. He connected with the phantasm. For a moment, the dark figure was paralyzed, screaming in agony; then it dissapated.

With a start, Scarecrow realized that no, those hadn't been the good old days. Hours and hours of training, with nothing to look forward to. All the pain came rushing back in waves, threatening to crush him. The loneliness, the terror...

Scarecrow forced himself to remember he had something to look forward to now, a goal he could reach. *I have to tell him,* Scarecrow decided. *I can't go on like this. No matter what, this time I'm going straight to...*

Scarecrow lost his train of thought as the chocobo was suddenly out of the forest. He had reached his destination. Kohlingen.

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

Things had changed since Scarecrow had last been to Kohlingen. Almost all of the buildings had vanished, with only small piles of debris to mark their previous existence. In the place of the buildings were fields of grain and such, and massive factories. Scarecrow briefly wondered what had happened.

"Excuse me," a guard began. "This town is off limits."

Scarecrow looked down. "Indeed. By whose orders?"

The guard raised one eyebrow. "Sascha and Akfek, of course."

"I see. And what has happened to this town?"

"The mighty sword of Sascha and Akfek has triumphed over the evil Figaran invaders, liberating this town in the name of justice." The guard's voice was filled with fervent zeal. "Kohlingen has chosen to serve Sascha and Akfek, that they may bring peace to the entire world."

Scarecrow couldn't keep himself from laughing, which earned him a dark stare from the guard. Scarecrow quickly sobered up. "I'm sorry. I just had no idea that Sascha and Akfek had any followers that fanatical. Especially ones who get paid as little as guards."

The guard's expression continued to darken, and some others nearby stopped to glower at Scarecrow. "Are you implying that they are not worth following?" The guard quivered with rage. "Because if you are..."

Scarecrow abruptly switched gears. "No, no, friend. In fact, I have been sent by the Lady Sascha herself, to test the loyalty of her followers. You have passed. Congratulations."

The guard was dumbfounded. "But... but why didn't she send someone in uniform?" he asked, grasping at straws.

"You would have known it was a test immediately if I had shown up in uniform. You don't think she is that STUPID, do you?" Scarecrow managed to put an edge of zealous anger into his voice. "Perhaps you didn't pass after all!"

"No, sir, I didn't think..."

"Exactly," Scarecrow responded, cutting him off. "You didn't think! I ought to have you court-martialed for incompetence!" Scarecrow paused before lowering his voice. "But, as Sascha and Akfek are merciful, so will I be merciful. All praise to their names!"

"All praise to their names!" the guard echoed. "And good day to you, sir!"

Scarecrow smiled as he dismounted his chocobo and walked toward what was left of the village. It had almost been too easy. Now, all he had to do was find Jad and get out of here.

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

Once in the village, it was a simple process to find Jad. He was out working with the other farmers. What bothered Scarecrow was that Jad wasn't a farmer. Gut instinct told Scarecrow that there was something wrong with this whole scenario, that he should run while he still could. Still, Scarecrow needed to know what had happened in his absence.

"We have to talk," Scarecrow whispered as he came to stand beside Jad. He motioned toward one of the few standing buildings.

"Who...?" Jad began, then broke off as he saw the pendant Scarecrow was holding up. "Scarecrow?" Jad shouted, loud enough for the entire town to hear. "You're alive?" Scarecrow grimaced. Jad knew better than to broadcast his presence everywhere.

"I have to tell you I serve Sascha and Akfek now, Scarecrow," Jad continued. "I can't help you anymore. As your friend, though, I ask you to join them. I know your services would be useful, and your life would be far more fulfilling."

Scarecrow blinked. He had always told everyone he had no friends. Jad ought to understand by now. A chill crawled up his spine, the same chill he had felt when Kefka had sent an elite legion of his best Magitek pilots after him. The instant before the battle, Scarecrow had known he was trapped. Only luck had gotten him out of that one. What was going on?

"Look, Jad. You don't have to pretend with me. I'm Scarecrow. I don't serve them. You don't have to give me that kind of garbage."

"Garbage?" Jad snorted. "You dare! I ought to kill you myself for what you have said. Instead, as Sascha and Akfek are merciful, I will give you a choice. Swear yourself in service to them, or die here!"

Scarecrow glanced around, knowing that Jad wouldn't make threats if he couldn't back them up. Sure enough, an angry mob of farmers and guardsmen had gathered, forming into a loose circle around him. Judgin by the numbers, it was... the entire town.

It suddenly clicked. The fanaticism in everyone he had spoken to, Jad working as a farmer, the angry mob... it could only mean one thing. Mass mind-control. The trouble was, Scarecrow had learned a moment too late.

Scarecrow turned back to Jad, a grim smile on his face. Serve them or die. This situation seemed to be becoming a common occurence.

"I serve no man save one. You know that."

The mob began closing in, slowly. Jad just stood there with arms folded, a dark glare in his eyes.

Scarecrow suddenly whipped out a small box, and flicked the lid off. With a quick motion of Scarecrow's hand, a tiny, continuous jet of flame leaped out of the device. The mob suddenly ground to a halt, wondering what he was up to.

Scarecrow lowered the artifact to one of the nearby stalks of wheat. It burst into flame. The crowd stood for a moment, mesmerized, as the flames began to spread across the field.

Then the mob suddenly erupted in panic. Desire to destroy the infidel suddenly had to compete with desire to save the field. Not knowing what to do, individuals rushed first one way, then another. Chaos ensued.

Lost in the roaring of the flames, Scarecrow quickly knocked Jad out, and heaved the man onto his shoulder. Smoke filled the air around him, but Scarecrow could cope with smoke. Turning, he walked toward the nearest exit, straight through the crowd that only moments before had been bent on killing him.

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

There was one guard left at Kohlingen's perimeter. Having already strapped Jad onto the back of his chocobo, Scarecrow was about to ride past, when a thought occured to him. He had set the fire as a diversion, but perhaps it could be put to other use.

Half-blinded by the glare of the fire, the guard didn't even know what had hit him. One moment he was staring off into the night, the next he was face-first on the ground, with someone's foot pinning him down.

"My name is Scarecrow."

"But... but you're supposed to be dead!" the guard managed.

Scarecrow grinned. "Perhaps. As you can see, I have returned. But that is not important. I have a message that you will give Sascha and Akfek. Tell them that in what they did to this town, they... ah... hurt one of my friends. For that, I burned a field. Tell them that if they do not un-'liberate' this and any towns like it, I will do far, far worse than burn a field. That is all."

With that, the weight lifted from the guard's back. He leaped to his feet, but Scarecrow was gone.

He sighed. The cargo wasn't even anything important. Just more food and supplies for the war effort. Not that they really needed it that much. Not for the first time, Graxul mentally questioned Akfek's decision in mind-controlling the citizens of towns like Kohlingen. It made it far easier for people like the Returners to gain popularity. And if the citizens ever escaped control, they would be furious. Besides, it just wasn't fair to the people. Graxul believed that a government should make things right for its people.

*Then again,* Graxul thought, *it's not my position to be judging Akfek's actions. I'm sure he has a very good reason for what he is doing. A military genius such as he always does. Gestahl be praised for leaving one such as he to lead us.*

Graxul glanced over the ship again. He blinked. There was an odd black shape lying in the shadow of one of the masts. He didn't remember it having been there before. How strange. Graxul moved in for a closer look.

Booming laughter erupted from the black figure. "It's about time someone noticed me," the shape drawled, its dark mass moving until it became clear that its shape was humanoid, encovered in black.

Graxul blinked. They hadn't exactly trained for situations quite like this. He wasn't quite sure how to handle it. He needed more information. "Who are you?" he demanded.

Several more guardsmen had assembled nearby. The shadowy shape cast a hooded gaze over each of them, striking fear even into the heart of Graxul. "My name... is Scarecrow."

The guards began to back off, slowly. Though he also felt the desire to run, Graxul knew that he had to face this danger, or he would never amount to anything in the Empire. He stood his ground, trying hard to keep himself from shaking.

"You have no business here!" Graxul spoke, fervently wishing his voice was more confident than he felt. "Leave this ship!" Out of the corner of his eye, Graxul noticed the terrified looks his men were giving him. He forced himself to ignore the danger.

Scarecrow paused. "I would love to spend some time to teach you manners, soldier, but I have better things to do right now. Everyone goes off the boat, and nobody gets hurt. It's as easy as that."

"We're already at sea. You..."

"Then you'd better hope you know how to swim," Scarecrow growled, cutting him off.

The rest of the guards had gathered to find out what was going on, as well as the ship's regular crew. Surely the entire group could prevail against one man. Nobody was that powerful. Graxul made a quick motion of his hand, signalling his men to be ready to attack.

Scarecrow sighed loudly. "I had hoped you would know better than to attack me. At the very least, you should've known better than to use hand signals that everyone already knows. Very well, perhaps I should provide a... display of my power."

Without warning, a Titan appeared at Scarecrow's side. Graxul couldn't keep himself from gasping. The Titan... a creature out of ancient myth. But the only ones who could get Titans to do what they wanted were... Callers.

"I don't think I need to tell you what manner of creature this is. Suffice it to say that it would crush this boat to pieces, with no chance of your survival, if I but commanded it."

Scarecrow waved his hand, and the creature vanished. "The lifeboats are over there," he said, motioning to the sides of the ship. "You have one minute to leave."

The deck erupted into a flurry of activity, all crew members scrambling for the lifeboats. None of them wanted to find out what Scarecrow would do when the minute was up. Graxul scowled as he shed his heavy armor and grabbed one of the anchoring ropes, untying the anchor as he did so.

Amidst the confusion, Graxul knew that Scarecrow couldn't possibly see what he was doing. Still, just to be safe, he went behind a mast before tying the rope to the deck. With only a minor curse about how he hated the water, Graxul leapt into the sea.

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

Scarecrow sank to his knees as the last lifeboat dropped. That had been a close one. Not that the Titan he had called hadn't been real, of course. Just that Scarecrow didn't have near the energy required to get it to smash the boat, much less what was neede if he wanted to survive the ordeal.

As it was, Scarecrow was wheezing in agony, unable to even hold himself up. His system was strong, but not that strong. Sheer willpower was all that had kept him from breaking down before the lifeboats had left. Now he felt the price of that holding back.

"You were bluffing, weren't you?" a familiar voice cried out from behind. Most of the pain already gone, Scarecrow forced himself to his feet, and spun around.

The guard captain was there, drenched from head to toe. It was cold, and that water was colder, but the guard captain didn't even seem to notice.

Scarecrow nodded. The man obviously already knew the truth. "How did you know?" Scarecrow replied hoarsely.

The guard hesitated. "I don't know. I guess it was a lot of little things, all added together."

"You have good instincts. Why didn't you tell your crewmates?"

The drenched guard cocked one eyebrow. "You think they would've believed me, after what you had just done? Not a chance. But you already knew that, didn't you?"

Scarecrow nodded again. "You're good. I hope you don't think you can now beat me, alone, even in my less than perfect condition." The guardsman shook his head. "Good. I thought as much."

There was a long pause as the two just stared at each other. Graxul was the first to break the silence.

"So... where do we go from here?"

"Well, that depends on you. You can jump back in the water, knowing that you were good enough to second-guess Scarecrow. Your Empire won't know that, or care, but at least you will know for yourself that you did well, once."

"Or...?"

"Or... you can join me. I've never asked a soldier this before. You're good at what you do. We could use someone like you. I can't say much about the job. It's hard work, and you don't get much time to yourself. But I know you will have one thing: respect. Join us, and you will never have to play politics to anyone again. We can promise that."

Graxul cocked an eyebrow. "We can promise that? Who is we?"

"We call ourselves the Agents... the Agents of Scarecrow."

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

The long transport ship sailed smoothly into the main port. Scarecrow looked out across the bow. As the morning fog cleared, he gazed upon the sheltered island. Graxul stared as well, but it was with anticipation of a new dream, not memory of an old.

"Welcome," Scarecrow said, "to the Shattered Island. Welcome... to my home."