"Who is it?" she called irritably.

"Ah, ah, I - I'm terribly sorry to disturb you, Lady," a nervous voice replied. "But McArthur, ah,says he needs to see you and Lord Akfek, ah, right away..."

"Can't he wait until morning?"

"Ah, I don't think so..."

"Very well." She dragged herself up reluctantly. 'This had better be REALLY important,' she thought as she followed the antsy cadet who had fetched her. After a few minutes, they reached the hall. Akfek was already there, talking to McArthur with a grim expression on his face. Garek was there too, stroking his chin thoughtfully. Sascha could tell that something was up, and it would have to be important to make Akfek forget about Garek's earlier failure.

"What's wrong?" she asked, getting right to the point.

"Ah good, you're here," said Akfek, turning to face her. "Garek has brought us some disturbing news. Not only is this 'rebellion' stronger than we had thought, but it also appears to be preparing for an attack."

"I see," said Sascha, taking it all in.

"Not only that," put in Garek, "but among their numbers are some of the Warriors of Balance."

Sascha turned to Akfek for confirmation. Could this be true? He nodded. "Well," she began, banishing thoughts of sleep from her mind, "the solution seems obvious to me. Attack them before they attack us."

"My thoughts exactly," responded Akfek. "We will luanch a surprise attack, before they are prepared."

"But it must be soon," interjected Garek. "My sources tell me that they are almost ready for an assault now."

Akfek eyed him thoughtfully. "Tomorrow," he said. "We will attack them tomorrow, at dawn. And," he continued, an evil grin on his face, "we will use ... this!" He withdrew Cid's potion.

Sascha's devious look mirrored his. "But who will we use it on?"

"I have already given this some thought," he replied. "Since the potion is meant to change the subject's form, physical stature and prowess are irrelevant. What we require is someone who is fiercely loyal to our cause, maybe even to the point of insanity..."

Sascha understood immediately. "Rokal," she said. "Of course. Her fanaticism will serve us well."

"I have already sent for her. In the meantime, let us plan our strategy. Even as we speak, Cid and Kromm are returning here with the Defiant, which, by all reports, is fully repaired..."

* * * * *

The next moring, at about 3:00, Shirak Rokal was brought to Akfek and Sascha. The two were seated at a large table.

"Why have you summoned me here, my lord?" the small woman asked Akfek. "Thre is much to be done back at the Tower."

"Shirak," began Akfek, "how would you like to exchange your frail body for another, and join us in our fight for Kefka?"

Rokal's head snapped up at this, and her eyes flashed. "What do you mean?" She took a step forward, leaning on her staff.

"We can give you a new body, so that you can fight for the glory of Kefka!" put in Sascha, playing her role well as always.

"Tell me how." Shirak's eyes were ablaze.

"All you have to do," said Akfek, leaning forward in his chair, "is drink this." He placed the vial on the table. Rokal picked it up and gave it a cursory examination. Then, without further hesitation, she uncorked it and downed it.

At first, nothing happened. Sascha was beginning to doubt the potion's efficacity when, suddenly, the priestess' body began to twitch, her face contorting horribly. Then, she ran shrieking out of the main door of the castle. Sascha glanced at Akfek, and the two hurried after her.

Outside awaited a terrible scene. Rokal's head had split in two! The two halves were growing larger and sprouting black scales. Her body was becoming larger, and more massive, splitting the priestess' robes. Four huge arms grew from her sides, and huge leathery wings were forming on her back. Sascha watched in horrified amazement as the creture writhed, its bloodcurdling screams rending the night.

Finally, it was over. Sascha and Akfek found themselves held in the gaze of the monster's two huge heads.

"Rokal, can you understand me?" asked Akfek calmly. The two black dragon heads looked down at him, and four glowing red eyes sought his. "Can you speak?" he continued. The creature drew itself up to its full height - almost as tall as the castle. The black scales on its neck glinted in the starlight, and the wicked spikes along its back stood straight up, protruding from the black fur of its body. Its long armored tailtwitched, and the creature flapped its huge wings once. Then, both of its mouths opened, dripping a noxious green substance.

"Praise be to Kefka," it said.

* * * *

A few hours later, Sascha was standing on the deck of the newly refitted Defiant. The wind whipped her hair about, and the air was cool on her skin. She glanced around her. Light was just beginning to creep across the horizon; it would not be long now. The enemy's airships had been sighted, and soon Akfek would give the order that would send them hurtling into battle. At the moment, he was below, making final preparations, and McArthur was steering the Defiant closer to the enemy.

Ah yes. She could see them now. Two mid-sized airships, and one that was shaped vaguely like a fish. 'The Big Whale,' she realized. 'What a strange ship...' Then a thought struck her. What if Merine was aboard one of those ships? She couldn't possibly harm her old friend, but what if...? "Impossible!" she said aloud, dismissing the idea as nonsense. "Where would Merine get an airship, anyway?" she muttered, reassuring herself.

It was at this point that Akfek came on deck. "Sascha," he said, "it is time. I have ordered Rokal to attack."

* * * * *

How strange it was to see through four eyes. How strange, and how wonderful! And to be able to fly! This new form was truly a gift from Kefka. And she would prove herself worthy of it. She would carry out His divine wishes! Now, where was that airship? Two heads scanned the horizon. Ah, over there. Four eyes narrowed intently, focusing on their target. She could see all three clearly now. What was that? Activity! Someone was coming up onto the deck of one of the airships; a blonde woman in a white cape. Rokal recognized her immediately. Celes Chere! One of those who had defeated Kefka! Well, now she would pay for her sacrilege... With a screech of rage, Rokal flew swiftly toward the enemy airship. The woman, caught by surprise, turned just in time to see the huge creature stop directly in front of her.

"Back in the name of Kefka," it growled, and drew in a deep breath.

She looked at the huge dragon that towered above the top of the airship. It had reinforcements, more airships, and ground troops. Even if they could find some way to get the people in town to fight on their side, which was doubtful, they were still outnumbered in both land and air.

Sascha and Akfek were good strategists, fitting opponents for a Runic Knight... if she ever reached them.

The others jumped on board. "We have to get these airships into the air."

"Are you crazy? We can't beat them..."

"Yes we can. They're using the new type of airships, the one with balloons. You're a archer, fire some arrows. Since we have no balloon, they are going to have a harder time taking us out..."

"We hope! Get that dragon off..."

"I ALWAYS get the easy jobs." Celes complained.

She turned to face the monster. "Alright, tall, dark, and scaly, let's see how fast you can fly."

She jumped off the side of the airship; the dragon took to the skies. Now freed of the excess weight, both airships lifted off at the same time.

The dragon swooped down, and Celes rolled to the side. The dragon landed and breathed fire from one head and acid from the other. Celes dodged and looked the monster over. Its entire back was covered with spikes; no chance of a back attack. Six hands with four claws on each, probably poisonous.

She heard the first boomings of airships above, not even wanting to know what was happening to the Enterprise and Falcon up there. The Big Whale had strong, durable armor and was in little danger.

"This'll be fun..." She dashed in, speed being her most important asset. She stabbed.

Blood spewed out.

"Shit!" She dodged to the side. Her sword had been mostly eaten away. The blood was corrosive. And she really liked that sword, her second favorite. "You'll pay for that..."

The dragon seemed to laugh; at least, one head seemed to laugh.

"Alright! ULTIMA!"

Both heads reeled back, but that seemed to be all the damage it had done. This thing was powerful.

Celes cast spell after spell at it. "MERTON! ULTIMA! METEO! ICE 3! FIRE 3! LIT 3!" She kept casting until she had no magic power left.

A horrendous crash. One of the enemy airships crashed to the ground, it's balloon deflated.

She rushed at the dragon, stabbing until there was no blade left. She backed down the street, using whatever she could find as a weapon, but whenever she broke through the skin, it was immediately destroyed.

She was backed into an alley and caught against the wall. She looked around, the wall behind her was too high to try and scale. She was trapped. Looking around for some sort of weapon, she cried out, "I'm going down fighting!"

Both dragon heads laughed, and prepared for a death blow.

"Say 'chocobo'," Rydia's voice rang out.

Called chocobos attacked the dragon. It couldn't turn around to attack Rydia. It ended up spinning its tail to knock down the buildings. Celes escaped, and Rydia called Bahamut to take on the thing. Bahamut was able to lop off one of the monster's heads before he was called away. Rydia didn't want him to get too hurt, because if he died, she died too. Her other magic was of little use against the dragon, but she was able to use her whip around it's remaining neck. It tried to back away, but couldn't escape Rydia's whip.

"Hold him steady, I'm gonna get him good." Celes came out of the inn with Dragoon Boots on and a spear in hand.

"Dragoon Jump!" she called out as she jumped high into the air.

She reached the peak of her jump and caught a glimpse of the air battle. Three of the enemy airships had been destroyed. The Falcon had a large hole in it. The Enterprise had a smaller hole. The Big Whale was none the worse.

She came down at a screaming pace. The spear plunged through the spikes of the back, through the scales, through the bones, and stuck in. Celes, meanwhile, had leapt off the dragon with a startling backflip.

The dragon cried out in pain. Then, it started to shake voilently. It expanded as if it were a huge bubble, and then exploded.

Meanwhile, the air battle having gone bad for the Empire, the airships retreated. The airships bombed the ground forces until they retreated, not taking a single life.

Celes' Revolutioners had won, but not without a price. A few townspeople had been killed by the falling debris and the dragon attack. The Big Whale had a large horizontal line in it, where another airship had flown against it. The Falcon was barely operational as it landed, and the Enterprise would take at least a week to fix up the holes in it.

They had taken a huge hit, but had survived the first onslaught of the Empire.

*****

Celes looked out the window of the inn. Some people were happy that they had been liberated from Sascha's and Akfek's Empire. Most were mad that, due to Celes, people had died and their town now looked like Mobliz had after the Light of Judgement hit it.

Rydia and the others were out organizing the cleanup. The best workers were Rydia's called monsters, who had already fixed the Enterprise, and were working on the Falcon, Big Whale, and the hardest hit areas of town.

And Celes Chere wondered if what she was doing was right...

Terra ran up top to see a squadron of airships firing at the Enterprise, and a giant dragon attacking Rydia and Celes.

'How'd Rydia get on this ship?' was the only thought that went through her head as a piece of shrapnel knocked her unconscious.

Terra floated through swirling colors. It was totally quiet, and somehow the silence managed to sing. She was floating through the astral plane. It wasn't exactly the first time, but this time it wasn't tainted because of Shade. The colors began to spin violently. In a giant spinning kaleidoscope of auras, a small white being began to emerge. It was short and fuzzy, and all of a sudden...

*Kupo! I found you!* it said. Terra recognized it as Mog, the elusive Solid Gold Dancing Moogle.

*Mog! Long time no see. Funny we should bump into each other in the dimension between reality and nothingness, huh?*

*Kupe...po. Not very. I'm dead, you see.*

*What?* Terra's confusion was felt by both of them.

*I touched the Sands of Time and died! But... I've got some buddies out looking for me. I wanted to find you so you could help me tie some loose ends.* Mog got out some sort of bag. *Give my friends this.* He handed Terra a small ball on a chain. *It's my antenna ball thingy. Oh yeah, and here's a little gift for the favor.* Mog produced a scimitar-like sword. It was extremely curved. The handle was not very ornate, but it was definitely a weapon of agility.

*Thank-thank you...* Terra accepted the sword and looked it over. It was very maneuverable. The blade was covered in strange markings.

*Those're called Runes. Not the runes you guys know; writing runes. Can do some impressive stuff if you can decipher the runes, I'm told. Oh yeah, did I tell you? I found your other half, kupo!*

Terra's eyes widened at this, and she stared at him. *My Esper half? Where is it?*

*Umm...* Mog looked down into the nonexistant ground. The colors around him began to get very bluish, and Terra could feel his slight pangs of guilt. *Well, uhh, It's gone now. It's back with my ashes, last I checked. But, the essence is still with me! I'll give it to you!* Mog closed his eyes and focused on Terra. Terra could feel something flow into her from Mog. It was... beautiful... It was... It made her... feel... complete... She felt whole now. She felt she could love and fight. She felt no doubts now. Her path was clear. She blinked tears from her eyes.

*Bless you, Mog. Thank you...* She reached and hugged him. She had never actually touched a Moogle before. They were really warm and fuzzy. She gave him a little kiss on the nose too. *That was for saving my life... eons ago, it seems.. in that mine in Narshe. I never thanked you.*

Mog blushed and backed away. *Aww, it was nothing. Kupo! Those guards were just dust in the wind!* Mog made a little fighting stance and Terra laughed a bit. *Oh, by the way, from what I hear, a lot of people still blame you for Kefka and everything and will kill you on sight, so be somewhat careful. Seeya Kupet!* Mog said, as he faded from view. Terra was startled at this revelation, but had to chuckle at Mog's casual abruptness. Everything began to fade, and she awoke on the deck of the Enterprise, the fight over. She sat up and noticed the necklace was around her neck, and the sword hung without a scabbard at her side.

"My lord and Lady DelAubre... I have the misfortune of informing you on our progress," uttered the General.

"And what is our progress, General?" inquired Sascha.

"Our forces suffered serious losses. Rokal failed the designated objective. We have lost three airships and our soldiers were forced to flee the town."

"FORCED TO FLEE THE TOWN!?" raged Akfek, and his voice threw McArthur back a few steps. "We had guards posted in every corner of Kohlingen and our Magitek Armor roamed the streets! And we lose the town!"

McArthur, recuperating from Akfek's voice, slowly responded, "Our sources were unable to determine the cause as to why the soldiers assigned to their posts fled the town but we are attempting to solve this mystery."

"This loss is an embarassment to our Empire. How can we be beaten by such a small group of people?" said Akfek, and then he stopped as if something had struck him; he realized that these were the same people who had killed his brother.

"Perhaps we should deliver a warning to these brave warriors who oppose us," suggested Sascha.

The anger left Akfek's face and a devilish grin formed instead,"Excellent! You are a fast thinker, Sascha, just like I was when I was at your age. They will pay for this outrage. Perhaps a town like... Thamasa?"

"The perfect choice, your Majesty. The town is a threat to our postion in Vector and has suffered little damage in the past," responded McArthur.

"It will suffer now. We will bomb every house in the town until the houses become one with the ground. When we take possession of the town, we will set a post there for our future assaults. Cid has developed another potion for our needs. If our forces encounter difficulties, I will send Lore, along with Cid's potion, to deal with any these difficulties. Carry out the necessary preparations, McArthur. That is all."

* * *

Onboard one of the airships was a man dressed in black leather low-boots, leather breeches, and a black leather vest over a white cloth tunic. He was the captain of one of the attacking airships, promoted to the rank of captain after Akfek had heard of his past services to Gestahl. Some officers of a similar rank grumbled about this person since he had not fought one battle yet but was already promoted to a Captain of an airship but they lacked the courage to confront this man. They knew about his rank before in Gestahl's army and they knew he could possibly achieve this rank again.

As the soldiers finished arming the airships, the airships left one by one from Doma. Several ships had already been sent from Vector, carrying the ground force that was to land the assault on Thamasa and were already near the town. Following the bombing of the town, the ground forces were to storm the town, destroying any resistance or any other obstacle in their way.

Soon, the airships, cloaked by Shade, arrived over Thamasa. As they flew over the town, they uncloaked and bombed Thamasa until an orange tide swept across the town. Thick black smoke arose from the houses that burned and burned. Many fled the town while the others attempted to contain the fire but were impeded by more bombing. When all the houses were in flames, the ground forces rushed towards the town.

But this time, it was different. The townspeople had heard of Kohlingen, Nikeah, Albrook, and Doma. Their defenses were prepared and well organized in case such an attack would occur. Their defenses were much superior to the defense of the other four unfortunate towns, and even the townspeople were armed. They came out to greet the forces of the Empire.

The battle continued for hours but the town's defenses began to collapse. The reinforcements from Thamasa began to dwindle and their supplies grew shorter as each hour passed by and the Empire advanced, slowly. Now, only a miracle could save Thamasa...

"Hey. We better get on patrol, now. The people can finish the rest. I think my monsters have done the best they can do." She hurriedly grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the Falcon.

"Agreed," Edge said, not even looking at Rydia. His mind wandered at the destruction.

Rydia paused a moment, then turned and hugged Edge. They stood there for a while, then boarded the Falcon.

"Just us?" Edge asked, looking around, seeing nobody.

"Uh-huh. Just to make sure any of Sascha's and Akfek's troops haven't recovered enough to remount another assault."

The engines started, and the Falcon soared through the air. Rydia caught sight of a crimson flash on the horizon.

"Which town is in that direction?" she thought. "Edge! Head towards the explosions!"

Edge flew the Falcon towards the ships. He and Rydia leapt onto another airship, only to run into soldiers. Edge unsheathed his swords, and slashed through one soldier after another. He was weakening. One soldier got the best of him and threw him from the airship. Edge managed to get a hold of himself, and stabbed one sword into the side of the airship. It wasn't enough, though, and he fell, leaving the sword sticking out of the airship.

Rydia, was having just as great problems. She had already exhausted most of her magic power; she had called Bahamut, and he had only wounded fifteen soldiers before he had taken his toll and had to retreat. A majority of the soldiers were walled anyway. Rydia's lips tightened as she pulled a rod out and shot a wave of energy at one soldier, and whipped another to her side. There were too many of them. She summoned a Mist Dragon to carry her back to the Falcon. The dragon was attacked repeatedly, but got her back over just before it dissipated from lack of strength. She steered the airship back towards Kohlingen, away from the enemy airships. She looked back. She saw the sword stuck in the airship, and she knew she couldn't turn the airship around; it would mean certain destruction for herself and the Falcon. She let her breath out in a slow sigh as she turned the Falcon around, and landed it near the burning town. She pulled a potion from her pocket and sipped at it, and she ran for the town.

***

Edge fell onto the roof of a burning building with only one sword. Looking around, he was surrounded by flames. So he did what he would normally do due to instinct. "FLOOD!" he shouted. It didn't work. "Oh, screw it! I hate this non-magic world!" He ran through the flames, nearly asphyxiating himself. He emerged from the building, a smoking black mass. Chaos was everywhere. Soldiers were engaged in combat with townspeople everywhere. Edge shook off his pain, and ran towards a group of soldiers, slicing them. He gasped for breath, and threw shruiken after shuriken, trying to help the people win the battle. "Celes! Hurry the hell up!" He smiled, jumped, and slashed another soldier, as he giggled. He was tired. He got goofy when he was tired. He felled another soldier, and raised his sword again. Then all disappeared in the fury of a soldiers attack as he was hit from behind.

*****

Rydia and Edge, along with the Falcon, were nowhere to be found. The others left without them.

They reached Thamasa.

And found the town in a sorry state.

Most of the houses were burning or being burned; the geographical region gave the town added protection, along with the walls, but that was all they had. Thamasians were magic users. With magic gone, they had very little power.

"We're within range to start attacking them..." Rosa said.

"Alright..." Celes laced up the Dragoon Boots, and jumped off the airship.

She landed right in the middle of hell.

It was hard to see through the smoke, but Celes was able to see an armor-clad man. She instinctivly lashed out her sword and plunged it through his back.

She emerged from the burning house, looking around, she glanced back at the man she had killed.

He was a Thamasian soldier.

Celes' curse was lost in the sounds of more bombs being dropped on the city. She looked around; there had to be something she could use to her advantage.

Celes barely had time to scream as an arrow slashed open part of her arm. She spun to face the archer, who stood pretty far away. Good shot from that range; she had to give him that. She charged him, and stabbed him in the gut before he could get another shot off.

Celes noticed more soldiers around now. The Empire must be using at least twice as many soldiers this time. Last time, soldiers had been of little threat, only the dragon was a problem, and she and Rydia had faced that jointly. She picked one grappling with a Thamasian woman, hit him on the head with her sword handle, and quickly dragged him inside.

Celes emerged from one of the few non-burning buildings left, now dressed in soldier's garb. She ran around places, stabbing people in the back here, facing another head-on there...

"AGH!" She something had buried itself in her left shoulder. If this kept up, she'd have no arms left to fight with. She spun, and saw a sword at her throat.

"Gimme three reasons not to kill ya?" Edge's voice.

She knocked the sword away. "Because it's me, you idiot!"

"Celes?!"

"Is Rydia here?" She noticed she was shouting over the roar of the flames.

"Yeah. I don't know where she is now."

"She must be tired. We have to find her."

"Yeah, and it'd be nice if we could keep our heads attached to our bodies while were doin' it. Oh, sorry about the shuriken."

"Yeah, whatever. Follow me."

They set off, taking down as many of the Empire's men as they could. She glanced up as the Enterprise flew overhead again. She wished she had looked more into the thing she had found in the cargo of the Enterprise. Maybe that little land rover thingy could help them now. At this point, she would take anything she could get.

Edge felt the bump on his head. That last hit had really hurt. He wasn't sure if he could keep up with Celes. He spun around, pulling his sword out of one guy's stomach just to stab it into somebody else's.

Celes fought against seven soldiers at once. She spun and knocked one to the ground. The second rushed her. She grabbed him, spun him around, and grabbed his sword hand. She used her own sword against one soldier, and his against another. She couldn't keep this up much longer, the damage the arrow and the shuriken had done to her arms was taking its toll, along with the fatigue from the other battles and the fact she hadn't slept in a day and a half. Maybe Setzer had finished with his other chore by now... but that would just be a miracle.

She closed her eyes. Wren had taught her to fight with her eyes closed, and she had learned even more when she fought with a blind spell cast on her. "Listen to your surroundings. See without your eyes," Wren had said. Of course, he had said that when she had been fighting in a secluded green meadow, with birds chirping. Not when she was in the middle of a raging inferno, with screams coming from every direction, and bombs exploding not twenty feet away from her.

She opened her eyes again. All seven men were dead. She wasn't sure how she had done it, but she knew she had. Maybe she should fight with her eyes closed more often.

A sound, behind her. She dropped her sword and clapped her hands together above her head. They never touched, as the sword one of the Empire's soldiers that had almost killed her separated them by an inch. Generally considered the hardest sword technique to learn, Celes had executed it almost flawlessly. She could tell it wasn't flawless because she could feel the blood running down her arms from where the sword had hit her hand. A millisecond too slow, at the wrong angle...

Celes turned and flipped the sword and the soldier into a burning building. A flaming body ran out, and fell dead before it could do anything. Celes fell to the ground. She was starting to see images dance in front of her. She felt woozy; it was hard to stand. She had lost too much blood...

Edge was suddenly at her side. "Celes... get up, we've got a problem," Edge said as he tried to think of a way to save them both from the twenty-three soldiers surrounding them.

"Can't find a safe hidden place!" he yelled in aggravation. Terra ran up to him.

"Take this over the town," she said. FuSoYa shrugged and manuevered the ship over Thamasa. Terra ran down to the bottom and found the ancient, barely used giant hook that was attached. Edward and Rosa had followed her and isntantly figured out her plan as she grabbed on to it.

"Lower the hook." she said. Rosa went to the controls and lowered the hook. It landed only ten feet above the ground. She grabbed her sword and jumped straight into the chaos.

She landed rather roughly, and managed to jump up in time to stop a sword from connecting with her neck. She lashed out angrily and began to attack. She took down about five soldiers.

"Hey! You're in the Empire too!" one said, recognizing her.

She attacked, and was blocked. "Not any more!"

He thrusted and she dodged out of the way. "Why? Join us again! We are strong!"

She slashed but missed. "The Empire's dead! It died with Gestahl!" She slashed at him again and cut off his sword arm.

"Ha! It'll never die!" He began to punch her.

She slashed off his other arm. "Now give up!" she said.

He began to kick her. "Nobody kills me!" he yelled.

She plunged the sword through him. "I have no time for vague Monty Python references," she said. Then something green caught her eye. It was Rydia, prostrate on the ground with someone about to plunge a spear into her. Terra threw her sword at the man, and stopped him dead. She ran and grabbed the sword. "You okay?" she asked.

"Peachy, thanks," Rydia mumbled.

Terra handed her a cure potion. As she straightened up, a boomerang hit her on her head, and she fell to the ground. "Ow..." She saw Rydia jump up, take out her whip, and catch the guard with it. The boomerang flew back at him, and hit him since he couldn't catch it.

"Thanks, Rydia," Terra said, getting up.

"We're gonna have to help each other if we're going to get out of here alive." Rydia said.

"Right on time," he said. "Now, you are SURE this formula is superior to the last?"

"Yes, Lord Akfek," replied the scientist. "It combines the energy of all our elementals... Shade's power's of invisibility, Luna's morphing and energizing power, Dryad's magical protection, and Gnome's speed and defense. We shall not fail this time."

"Akfek steepled his fingers and grinned evilly. "Excellent. Then, bring in our... volunteer."

Cid beckoned to the door, and a tall dark-haired man stepped out.

"Greetings, Lord Akfek," he said pleasantly, "I am Lore. It pleases me to serve you."

"Of course it does. Cid, give him the potion." The scientist uncorked it, and passed it to Lore, who tipped it towards Akfek.

"To your health, my Lord," he said with a grin, then quaffed it. A moment later, his body began to glow a golden hue. "Interesting!" he said, and staggered backwards. Then his body began to convulse, much the way Rokal's had. He fell back against an idle suit of Magitek Armor. Lore's form began to grow, becoming the size of a small building; if the airship had been powered by anything but magic, it would have begun to drop. His hands grew long sharp claws, and his flesh turned into a hard, glistening black surface that seemed to absorb all light. His eyes burned with golden fire. But even as this occurred, something else was happening. The armor Lore had fallen against was morphing too, becoming a part of his new body. Akfek watched all this with dispassionate interest until finally the transformation was complete. The creature before him looked like an obsidian gargoyle.

"Right then," it said matter-of-factly. "I'm off to smash some rebel scum. Later, all!" Then it unfolded its glittering wings, revealing a Magitek propulsion unit fused to its back. With a burst of magical fire, it propelled itself up from the deck of the Defiant, and began to fly down towards the fray.

* * * * *

On the ground, Sascha withdrew her knife from the chest of a Thamasian soldier, and watched with satisfaction as he slumped to the ground, dead. She had killed many like him today; she had developed a real flair for it. In battle she gave herself over to the rage inside her, let it consume her. She could even imagine she saw the faces of her Kohlingen tormentors on the Thamasians as she slew them.

She wondered vaguely where the blond-haired rebel leader was. She had hoped for a chance to fight the ex-General herself. She wanted revenge for their humiliating defeat at Kohlingen. 'How could we have lost?' she thought as she dispatched another soldier. 'All our airships, and that little... WITCH beats us!' She vented her fury by running an unprepared Thamasian through, and shrieked with delight as he fell.

"An impressive hit, my Lady!" She turned and saw Connor fighting another soldier. She grinned and gave a mock curtsey. She did not see the soldier coming up behind her.

"Watch out!" exclaimed Connor, but it was too late. Sascha yelped in pain and surprise as the metal of a sword cut into her left shoulder. She turned to face the man who had attacked her. Undaunted, he stared back at her, sword in hand.

"You... hit me!" Sascha's rage rose. "How dare you! Argh!" She clutched at her shoulder, which was bleeding profusely.

"Prepare to die, Imperial scum!" the soldier called.

"Prepare to die? But we haven't even been properly introduced!" she said through clenched teeth. The Thamasian was visibly puzzled by this, but his sword did not waver. "I am the Lady Sascha DelAubre of Lord Akfek's Imperial Forces," she continued. The soldier paled at the name. "And YOU, my friend, are dead!" She uttered a word of magic, and he was pulled screaming into a gate of darkness.

Sascha sank to the ground, and examined her wound. It was quite deep; she would have to stop the bleeding.

"Here, let me." Connor had ripped some cloth from the sleeve of his uniform.

She nodded. Whatever she might think of his intellect, he knew exactly what to do when it came to combat situations. She grumbled as he wrapped the makeshift bandage around her shoulder. "Bloody rebels! Hit ME? Ooh! Am I mad!" She gritted her teeth. "Attacking from behind! What kind of honor is that? Well, if they want to fight dirty, I'm only too happy to oblige... I'll show them... my Lunar Magic!"

At this Connor looked up with a start. "But... if you use that spell, you'll hit our men!"

"Yes, but I'll hit theirs, too!" She stood up and began to chant the spell. Just like the first time, a golden glow began to cover the area in front of her, obliterating all it touched. The soldiers caught in it screamed in agony as they were ripped to bits. Fortunately, there were relatively few Imperial troops caught in the spell's radius.

"Ruthless," breathed Connor.

"Thank you." Then she heard an odd sound. She looked up, and saw and saw a dark, winged creature soaring overhead. "Cid's latest creation..." She turned to Connor. "I'm going back to the Defiant. It looks like everything's under control here." He nodded. With an irritated glance at her throbbing shoulder, she began to head for the airship.

As Droge had promised, his induction and subsequent promotion had come rather quickly. Quite unusual, since he had seen Akfek but once, and that was in Zozo, a few days ago. One day after Lazarus addressed Akfek in a short letter, came the advancement. Presumably, one of the higher officials in the new Empire had made the recommendation, but the rapidity of his indoctrination was slightly disconcerting. In time, he would have to meet this Akfek.

"Well hello, 'Captain' Brokengulf."

The tone of the voice was mocking, the word "Captain" spoken with a sneer. Lazarus casually turned his head.

Twelve men stood before him, each clad in the light uniform of the airship crew. The foremost soldier, a tall man with a scraggly blond beard, was undoubtedly the one who had addressed him. The man's arms were folded across his chest, and his gaze was cold, as were his companions.' A large, curving sword hung from the man's broad belt.

"Good afternoon, lieutenant," Lazarus replied in a disinterested voice. He turned his head, and gazed over the rail of the ship.

A rough hand clasped Lazarus' shoulder, forcing him to turn again. The blond man's livid eyes glared at his captain. "Bloody hell. You know damned well that this was to be my ship. I've served Akfek well, since the day he rose to power! And you, a goddamned stranger takes away my command? Bah!"

Lazarus' eyes narrowed dangerously, glancing briefly the the hand on his shoulder. "What are you saying, lieutenant?" he asked softly. "Would you rather I relinquish command to you?"

The brutish man grunted. "God's blood, you never deserved it! This is my ship, you bastard." He jerked a thumb towards the crewmen. "And these here know it."

Lazarus glanced at the dark faces of the group of men. "Truly? You all doubt my command?" He did not expect a reply, he could see the answer in their faces.

The lieutenant shoved Lazarus roughly into the bulkhead with a snarl. "Bloody well right they do! You're done here, mate." His other hand twitched near the hilt of his sword.

Suddenly, Lazarus grabbed the man's jacket with two strong hands. With surprising speed and strength, he hoisted the mutinous lieutenant off of his feet.

To the horror of his crewmen, Lazarus threw the man over the rail.

The startled cry ceased as quickly as it was uttered.

Lazarus did not turn to regard the men for several moments. "Am I clear?" he asked softly.

The once inflamed faces of the soldiers were now drained of blood. Some made not motion, their mouths gaping. Others nodded mutely. One man stepped forward, and bowed curtly. "Yes, sir, Captain, sir," he answered.

Lazarus eyed the young man speculatively. "Very good... lieutenant." The man's eyes widened. "And remember well the circumstances under which your promotion came. I do not think you would care to be, ah, demoted."

The man nodded shakily.

* * * * * * *

The missive was rather vague, but it appeared that Akfek had just had some sort of setback. Rebels, according to the brief. In time, he was to aid in the crushing of the rebellion.

Lazarus' lips curled into a brief smile.

Yet another opportunity had come.

The second she came in, five soldiers surrounded her. Instinctively she brought out her whip, and called Bahamut, who came by her side, only to take grievous wounds before dissipating.

"Looks like it's just me against you guys, huh?" she said, cracking the whip at the one in front of her, taking him down. A sword slash cut off part of her cape, and she turned and lashed him with the whip. She flung herself around as another charged, and she whipped around the sword, wrenching him over her head, and she shot a flame burst at him.

"Two down, three to go. Great," she mumbled, parrying another slash with her whip. The sword slashed through it, making it useless.

Rydia gasped. Without at least a whip, she was helpless. The only thing she might have a chance with was her magic power, which had only been refilled partly by the potion. Reluctantly her eyes flashed, and she called a chocobo, and it galloped into a soldier, while she attempted to subdue the other two. She tried to lash one with her half-whip, but it didn't quite work as well as she wanted it to. She was screaming inside. A flashback of her village was coming back. Kain, Cecil, and the package, All clear in her mind's eye.

"NO!" Rydia yelled. She called a Titan, using what little magic power remained. The soldiers fell into the pit created by the giant. She collapsed to the ground. In her hand she grasped the handle of her whip. Slowly, she rose, her pulse quickened. She was scared of the fire. No soldiers seemed to be around. She had time, as it were, so Rydia decided to use it. She searched the dead soldiers body only to find the sword. But a weapon was a weapon, and she grabbed it, and hurried towards the middle of the town, where more bombs were being dropped.

"How am I supposed to fight with this thing? I hope I don't have to use it on -" she started to say, as she was slashed by a sword. Pain rushed up her arm. Rydia screamed again. She fought awkwardly. mimicing movements she had seen Edge and Cecil use. She had to clear her head, remove the pain. She did so, and shot a burst of electricity at her assailant. He fell. Rydia looked up. Airships. Lots of airships. Now Rydia was slowing down. She needed more time. She was bleeding. Bleeding enough to draw her from the fight. She wanted to get back to the airship. She wanted enough power to call Asura to heal her. She wanted lots of things, but these things were extras right now. She slowly faded into unconsciousness. Her last thoughts were of Edge...

* * *

A Thamasan soldier found Rydia unconscious. He looked at her awhile, and decided she was not a part of Sascha and Afkek's group. He carried her in his arms, into a burning building, and opened a small trap door in the ground. He put her through, and followed her, closing the passage, and he watched her.

"She might be the key to surviving this attack..." He fetched a spear, donned a cloak, and he stood guard at the opening as he waited for the girl to awaken.

"Welcome back to the world of the living. You haven't been out nearly as long as I expected you to be," he said.

Rydia tried to reply, but couldn't. Her wounds were pretty bad. She beckoned towards her cuts, and smiled weakly, hoping he would understand.

The man nodded, and brought some bandages. Rydia promptly wrapped them around the gash in her arm, and found the strength to speak.

"Wh...what happened? Wh...where am I?"

"Underground in Thamasa, we're under attack by Sascha and Akfek, don't you remember? I take it you are a magic user, or at least were a magic user." He smiled. "I was too, you know, I used to create potions with my spells. Back before Kefka."

"Po...potions? Do you have any with you?"

"Yeah, but what good will they do you? Since magic is gone, they must be completely obsolete now. I'll fetch one, if that suits you."

"Yes, please..." Her voice trailed off.

The man rushed off, and returned holding a tiny bottle, filled with a pinkish liquid. He handed it to Rydia. Her hand shook as she took out the cork and drank it. The man stepped back, as if seeing what was going to happen. Rydia's mind grew stronger, and she found the power to speak.

"From the land of the summoned monsters, I call Asura!"

The queen appeared, and raised her hands, engulfing Rydia in her greenish light. For the first time in awhile, Rydia felt refreshed, and full of energy.

"Do you have any whips of any sort?" She looked down at her sliced up handle. "Or a sheath for this sword?"

He frowned. "No whips of any kind, I can find a holster for your sword. By the way, what was that thing that you did? I've never seen magic of that kind! With that power, we could take down Sascha and Akfek!"

Rydia nodded. "But it's not that simple. Do you have any more of those potions? I could make use of them, and -" She stopped suddenly. "Have we even gone through a formal introduction? My name is Rydia."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Sarsii, and hold on a sec while I fetch that sheath, and some more of my potions."

He left, and came back with ten potions, all the same as the one Rydia had. He handed all of them to her, and the sword, with a sheath.

"So, Rydia, what say we go back outside and show those bums some real power!"

Rydia pocketed the potions, and strapped the sword to her waist. "Well, then, let's be off." She opened the hatch, climbed out, and Ssrsii followed. The town was still burning, and Rydia immediately called Leviathan to send a flood over a large portion of the town, quenching the flames. Rydia pulled the sword, and she and Sarsii headed towards the large skirmish.

"Look where the Empire's going, in that direction. If we can find the others, we can follow them." Sarsii nodded in approval, then walked towards the middle of town. Rydia followed. They both stopped, and looked up.

"What is that?" Rydia exclaimed, as she unsheathed the sword she had, as a substitute for her whip.

Sarsii whipped out his spear, "It looks like Magitek Armor... but it appears to be alive!" He charged the being, and poked at it with his spear.

Rydia got down to work, and she called Asura to help Sarsii, and she charged the gargoyle with her sword. She slashed, while Sarsii poked, and Asura healed them twice before leaving. Rydia's calls had increased in power. She stepped back, and called Bahamut. Sarsii threw his spear at the being. The being started laughing.

"Your powers, they mean NOTHING to me!" he boomed, and sent a laser at Sarsii, who got thrown back into a slightly burnt building. "And you, tiny caller, have a Bio attack!" A green wave hurtled toward Rydia, who dodged, barely, and ran over to Sarsii. He was hurt badly. She picked him up, and took him inside a house. "Hey, wake up! Wake up!" she said as she shook him. Sarsii opened his eyes, and spoke slowly, slurring his speech.

"Living Magitek Armor, who'd... have thought?"

"It must have a weakness! Does this Magitek have any weaknesses?" she replied.

"I don't know... I don't know..." His eyes closed again.

"WAKE UP! Asura, help me!" she yelled. Asura appeared, and healed Sarsii, who still had his eyes closed. Rydia rose, and made sure Sarsii would be all right. Then she went back outside to face the monstrosity.

Two more soldiers crumpled to the ground before the rest had a chance to turn around. Their eyes widened as they did so and they merely stood there, gaping stupidly, seemingly rooted to the ground.

Rosa had to laugh aloud as she bore down upon them with breakneck speed. Apparently these youngsters, with all their new-fangled Magitek technology, had never seen a hovercraft before! She glimpsed a dark figure standing amidst the crowd... Edge! So he was alright after all--or alive, anyway! She could almost swear he was grinning beneath that mask of his.

He, at least, retained enough presence of mind to move. The ninja leaped nimbly off to the side, out of the way, just as the hovercraft smashed into the others.... Imperial soldiers flew every which way, looking for all the world like twenty identical bowling pins. Some hit nearby stone walls and fell down cold, others crashed through what remained of the blazing buildings that surrounded them. A few leaped up and ran frantically about, yelping and beating desperately at their clothing, but most lay very still.

Rosa cheered triumphantly and swung the hovercraft around. Her victorious grin quickly faded as a hand suddenly clamped down on her shoulder. A hand and the dirty-brown sleeve of an Imperial uniform...

Instinctively, she whipped out a dirk she had found somewhere and slashed an upward arc behind her. There was a loud rip as she felt the blade tear through cloth, but no flesh. Damn, she really needed to learn how to use this thing more effectively...

"Damn it!" a muffled curse came from behind her. "What are you trying to do, kill me?"

Stupid question. "Yes," she answered simply, and swung her free fist up, hard. This time she connected, and the soldier fell back, dazed. He stumbled backward and slipped over the edge of the hovercraft, but clawing out blindly, somehow managed to grab a handhold and hang on. He howled in pain as the craft swerved against some rough wooden fencing, grinding his body against it before Rosa regained control of the vehicle and veered it back on course.

Rosa was on her feet now. Her hair, previously tied back, had worked itself free, and it now whipped about her face as she looked down upon the soldier with a grim expression. "You *are* a trooper," she remarked wryly. "However, we can't have stowaways here, so..." She brought a foot up, preparing to smash the heel down upon the soldier's fingers.

"Rosa!" the soldier shrieked. "It's ME!"

Rosa paused, taken utterly aback. "Celes?!" She moved to quickly drag her battered friend back aboard. "What on earth are you doing dressed in--"

"Never mind!" Celes sputtered irritably. Her vision was swimming now, she was riddled with splinters, and she was bleeding quite profusely. "Let's just get Edge and..."

Her voice trailed off as the air darkened visibly around them. Looking up, the two women saw a vast, dark figure gliding above. Its leathery wings extended outward, outward--to a seemingly impossible expanse, until they seemed to blot out the sun entirely.

"What the hell...?" Celes began. The creature coasted on the air currents above them for a few seconds longer, then swooped down straight towards them; and Rosa and Celes gazed into burning, golden, unhuman eyes....

Actually, Hovercraft was a better word.

"Terra! Get in here!" Rosa yelled at the controls. Terra nodded and jumped in. She glanced around at the strange object, but didn't have long when a strange Gargoyle-like thing caught her eye. In the background, not very noticeable, was a knight on a flying horse, but Terra didn't pay much attention to it.

"What is that?" Celes asked.

"I AM LORE." It said.

"No need to yell." Terra said.

"I'M NOT! WHAT DOES IT MATTER ANYWAY?" It swooped down and caught Terra in its hands. She struggled and finally broke from him in midair. She grabbed on to his arm and swung herself up and on his back. She tried stabbing him repeatedly. Then the monster jerked around, trying to remove her. She tripped and slid down, landing on something very hot. She looked. It was a Magitek rocket pack. Then she felt something go around her throat and pull her back. She flew off him and saw it was a tail. She fell for a long time, and knew she might not live to see it kill her friends.

They landed lightly on the back of the hovercraft, where Celes set Terra down as carefully as she could without losing her balance on the speeding vehicle. Rosa flashed them both a smile of relief. "Nice catch, Celes!"

Celes returned the smile briefly. "Likewise." She spied the gargoyle circling overhead, gathering itself for another nose-dive assault. Shuddering slightly, she added, "I wouldn't have wanted to try outrunning that thing on the ground..."

With an eye turned skyward, Terra already had her scimitar at the ready. She patted the hovercraft lightly. "I doubt we stand much of a chance outrunning it even with this little contraption..."

"So we don't run," Rosa concluded grimly. Without removing her eyes from the road, she unslung her longbow. "Let's have at it."

Laughter echoed in her ears, soft and menacing. Rosa frowned slightly, throwing her companions a perplexed glance. "Did you hear somethi--"

More laughter, this time long, loud, mocking, and unmistakable. "So," a voice remarked from seemingly nowhere, "the three little women rebels really do want a fight, do they? Well, I was never one to deny the request of a lady!"

Celes gritted her teeth at this. "Where the hell is he--it--whatever?"

"Right here, Benedict Arnold Chere!" A massive ebony tail swept out of thin air and hit Celes square in the jaw, sending her flying a good twenty feet into space. She landed, hard, in a pile of rubble a short distance away. The creature--Lore, it had called itself--now towered in plain view, its face twisted into an expression of smug complacency.

"Celes!" Rosa leaped to her feet and fired. The arrow struck the creature's obsidian hide and bounced off harmlessly, ricocheting into the blasted remains of a tree nearby. Muttering an oath, she quickly fitted another arrow and fired again. This one sank deeply, and it burst into flame as soon as it struck. With a shriek of outrage, Lore batted at the protruding shaft, breaking it off at its base but leaving its head embedded deep within his armored hide. He turned furious golden eyes upon Rosa, his pride clearly more hurt than his body. The tail lashed out again, but the speed of the hovercraft enabled Rosa to just manage to dodge it. /Where are Rydia and Edge? Reinforcements would be helpful right about now.../

Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed Celes stumbling to her feet. Her Imperial disguise was thoroughly shredded by now and she appeared slightly dazed, but she was still quite alive and in the game. Taking advantage of the monster's distraction, Celes launched herself into the air, courtesy of her trusty dragoon boots. She came screaming down upon the gargoyle's back, plunging her sword squarely between the shoulder blades.

Lore's head snapped upward and he let forth an ear-splitting scream of pain. The gargoyle began to writhe and twist like a wild animal, determined to unseat this impudent, unwelcome passenger. Normally, Celes would probably have been able to stick, but the lengthy battle with the Imperial troopers had taken its toll on her, and she once again found herself sailing through the air. She managed to land on her feet this time, but sank to her knees, weakened.

At that moment, another figure landed on the gargoyle's back. Almost before the sight had registered, the stranger had plunged a pair of weapons at Lore's flesh. One, a dirk of some kind, glanced off of the armored skin and bounced away. The other, however--a claw--tore into the obsidian flesh, opening an ugly gash in Lore's side. The agonized roar that ripped the air was truly terrible this time.

For a moment, Rosa thought Edge had rejoined them, but closer inspection revealed a man she'd never seen before in her life. His assistance was welcome, in any case. She seized the opportunity to help Celes out. Steering toward her, she fingered the fragment of orb at her throat and concentrated. "Cure 2..." she murmured.

Sparkling green motes of light surrounded Celes, and she rose to her feet with a little assistance from her sword. She smiled, apparently feeling better. "Thanks, Rosa..." She waved one hand, declining an offer of assistance in boarding the hovercraft. "No, thanks. I've changed my mind. I think I'll be more mobile on foot, for this battle..."

They were interrupted by another roar from Lore and a flood of crimson light.

"What in the name of--" Terra was cut off as the light slammed into all three of them, sending them hurtling into a wall.

"Your Majesty, our troops have suffered heavy losses in Thamasa."

Upon hearing this, Akfek's face grew bitter and he stood up and strolled from side to side.

"The attack was proceeding as planned and we were about to penetrate the town's defenses, but reinforcements arrived, possibly from the Returners. Although the reinforcements were few, their strength was overwhelming, and our forces cannot hold out in the battle much longer."

After hearing this, Akfek lunged into a rage and violently grabbed his general's neck. He yelled into McArthur's face, "Do I have to hear this every time?" and then flung the general onto the ground.

McArthur, petrified at Akfek's anger, staggered back up with his knees trembling.

"Well, go on," demanded the short-tempered emperor.

Recouperating, the general continued, "Our ground forces cannot endure this battle much longer. I suggest we send reinforcements or withdraw our troops immediately."

Their conversation was interrupted when a sentry entered, followed by two soldiers dragging a chained prisoner on his knees. "Your Majesty, we have apprehended this spy. His name is Valron and we caught him attempting to hand critical information to a Returner. Unfortunately, we were unable to capture the Returner."

Akfek stared at the helpless man and noticed the cuts and wounds that covered the prisoner's body. "And what information have you retrieved from him?"

"He has confessed to the location of the Returner's headquarters. It seems as if the Returner's base is located in Jidoor - intelligence was able to verify this and have located the hidden base in Jidoor," the sentry answered.

"So, the weasels are hiding in Jidoor." Akfek sat down again and continued, "You may leave now, sentry. Continue your work with the prisoner and when you have squeezed every ounce of information from him, execute him." The sentry departed the room, and the two soldiers hauled the prisoner away.

Akfek resumed his conversation with his General. "McArthur, withdraw our troops from Thamasa then. Be sure Lady DelAubre is protected as our forces withdraw. We will leave Lore in Thamasa to deal with those rebels."

"Your Majesty, I suggest we retake Kohlingen at this time. With General Celes and her companions preoccupied with Lore, it would be very easy for our forces to retake Kohlingen."

Akfek considered his General's advice and agreed that Kohlingen could be taken easily. "Yes, that is a good idea. Go ahead and make the necessary preparations to invade Kohlingen."

The General exited the room, and as he left, Cid walked in, escorted by a trooper.

"What brings you here to Doma again, Cid?" inquired Akfek.

Cid, dressed in his usual oversized yellow coat, responded, "Oh, I just built a little invention in Vector and I'd like to show you."

"Really? Then let's go to Vector so I can see this little invention of yours."

* * *

Cid peered at Doma which shrank in size as the airship climbed higher and higher. For some unexplained reason, he felt loyal towards Akfek. It was like he was being forced to be loyal to Akfek but he couldn't explain why. He could barely recollect Akfek's history, but he could still recall a portion of it...

___________________________________________________________________________

"Cid, how is your work on the Magitek Knights?"

"Very good. I've managed to duplicate Kefka's genes, and now Kefka has a brother. This time, I think things will go a lot better."

Emperor Gestahl examined the newest addition to his Magitek Knights. "Did anything go wrong like it did last time with Kefka?"

"Everything proceeded as planned. In fact, because everything went right compared to the last time with Kefka, I've named him 'Akfek,' the reverse spelling of Kekfa. Hopefully, he'll also be the reverse of what happend to Kefka. I've also been able to normalize his skin color too. I haven't infused him with Magitek power yet but I will after I run a few more tests."

"So, have you made him strong too?" Gestahl waited impatiently for Cid to answer.

"Well... no, I didn't. He would be very weak without magic, but with magic, he would be a very strong asset."

"I don't want a weak fighter. I want somebody who can fight with a sword and who can use magic simultaneously. Don't bother to infuse him with Magitek power. This Akfek of yours is useless to me. Perhaps, I'll make him an ordinary soldier..."

___________________________________________________________________________

The airship arrived and landed on a cliff above the Imperial capital. Akfek and Cid were led down a tunnel until they reached the mighty fortress. Two soldiers stood outside the main door of Vector and saluted Akfek as he walked in with Cid. Inside, the two headed for the production line where Cid's invention was waiting.

"I hope you like it," said Cid. "These two are modified versions of the old 'Guardian.' I call them Guardian 1 and 2. I've enhanced their weapon capabilities and their armor as well. Number 2 is stronger than number 1 but both are much more efficient than the old 'Guardian.'"

Akfek, amazed at Cid's invention, commended the scientist. "Excellent job, Cid. I could use these two on those rebels later." Cid smiled and blushed at the praise given to his work. "Cid, continue with your work. If you need to test your new invention on somebody, feel free to grab any soldier here to test it on. I have some business to attend right now."

* * *

Akfek opened the door to what used to be his brother's room. He glanced around the room and saw a half-opened closet with a green cape hanging inside. Akfek opened the rest of the closet and observed some red pants and a pair of red shoes lying inside the closet. The cape, pants, shoes, and the rest of the clothes in the closet once belonged to his brother.

Akfek looked at himself in the mirror and wondered what he would look like with his brother's clothes on. So, he removed his clothing and wore what was left of his brother's clothes instead. At the top of the closet was a whitish cap with a feather sticking out the side. He snatched the hat, brushed away the dust that had settled on top of it and glanced at the mirror again. "A perfect fit," he thought as he gazed at the image of himself in the mirror.

"Damn." Who had tipped the Thamasans off, anyway? If she ever found the weasel... To add to her bad mood, the bandage that Connor had put on her shoulder had come off, and the wound was bleeding again. She would have to get it looked after by a medic if she didn't want it to get infected.

She lifted her eyes to the sky, and saw a small object flying towards her flagship. It was swift and sleek, and looked like a miniature version of the Defiant itself. 'A runner craft,' Sascha thought to herself. The ship drew closer, until it landed on the deck. General McArthur stepped from a door in its hull, looking relieved to be free of its close quarters. He gave a quick bow before he began speaking.

"My Lady," he began, "Lord Akfek sends orders that we are to withdraw."

"Withdraw?" Certainly, things were not going their way just now, but the tide could easily be turned. A few reinforcements, and... "What do you mean, withdraw?" She was incredulous. "These impertinent rebels can still be crushed _here_! We simply need a few more men, and..."

"No, my Lady," said McArthur. "His orders were quite explicit."

Sascha slapped him hard across the face, sending pain shooting down her arm. This, however, only served to enrage her further. "How DARE you interrupt me!" she yelled, venting her anger on the unfortunate bearer of bad news. McArthur flushed in humiliation and embarrassment, and lowered his gaze to the deck.

"I'm dreadfully sorry my Lady. But Lord Akfek wishes to limit our losses here, while we prepare for attacks on Jidoor and Kohlingen."

At this, Sascha calmed a bit, and raised an eyebrow. "Jidoor?" The purpose of retaking Kohlingen was obvious; they could not let the Returners walk away with their town like that... but why Jidoor?

"Lord Akfek has learned that the Returner base is located there."

"How very interesting." Sascha tugged at her lip thoughtfully. "Well then. It would appear we must go back to Doma. Order the other ships to cloak immediately. I assume we are leaving Lore behind?"

"Yes, my Lady," answered the General. "To destroy as many rebels as he can."

"One more thing. Before we depart, drop all our remaining bombs on the town." McArthur nodded, and Sascha grinned viciously.

She looked down on the town below, holding her wounded shoulder. The Imperial troops were withdrawing to their ships, but Lore was still rampaging across the ruined settlement, flinging bodies of Thamasans and Returners every which way. "He seems to be doing a fairly decent job..." The day would not be a TOTAL loss, then. Turning to a low-ranking officer, she ordered the flagship cloaked, and stood pensive as the familiar aura of magic enveloped the Defiant. She couldn't wait to hear what Akfek had in store for the rebels...

* * * * *

A few hours later, the second-in-command of the new Empire strode purposefully down the main corridor of Doma Castle. She approached the door to the throne room, and pushed it open.

"So," she began as the door swung open, "what is so important in Jidoor that we leave Thamasa to the... Returners...?" She paused as she saw Akfek. He had, apparently, opted for a change of wardrobe, and seemed to be wearing his brother's old clothing, right down to the feathered hat. Sascha had only seen Kefka once, when he had stopped at their inn on the way to Figaro, but she remembered him well enough to note the striking resemblance between him and Akfek. It was... eerie. "What's with the clothes?"

He rose from the throne he had been sitting in and looked at his compatriot. "I felt a change of attire would be fitting for my new station."

Sascha had to admit that he certainly made an imposing figure. "It... suits you," she said. He dismissed her comment with a wave of his hand.

"You were speaking of Jidoor. We have captured a Returner spy who has told us of their base there. We intend to attack it, and put a stop to this rebel nonsense once and for all. We will crush them when they least expect it!" He slammed his fist into his palm for emphasis. "Cid has even invented some new machines to deal with the Returner fools. I have seen them, and they are quite... impressive." Akfek grinned evilly.

Sascha's smile mirrored his. "So... when will this great battle take place?"

"Soon, Sascha, very soon...."

* * * * *

It was three o'clock in the morning, and the stars were shining brightly over the Castle of Doma. A casual observer might have thought it a peaceful pastoral scene... but appearances can be deceiving.

In the castle's great hall, Lady Sascha DelAubre, known to some as Sascha the Beast, was pondering the upcoming attack. She wondered how many rebels were in the base. They had surely increased in number since the Empire's loss of Kohlingen. There were also the Figarans to contend with. Even though they would be vastly outnumbered, they were by no means incompetent farmers... but perhaps (maybe with a little help from Shade) they could be persuaded to join the Imperial Forces... and if not, well, it would be their loss. Sascha did not intend to lose this battle; she would take as many troops as she could muster, and all the airships that were not needed at Kohlingen. In addition, she had her own sword and magic, which she intended to use to the best of her abilities.

Then a thought struck her. The liberation of Kohlingen. The rebels gaining in strength. Could Merine be among their numbers? Her forehead creased with perplexion. She DID remember an intelligence report talking about a red-haired rebel leader... could it be Merine? She couldn't allow her friend to perish in the attack... but she couldn't drop the fight! Sascha began to pace. What to do, what to do? A message. She would have to get a message to Merine. She scrounged up a piece of paper and a plume, and scribbled a few lines. Then she rolled up the paper and tied it with a green ribbon she'd had in the pack she'd originally brought from Kohlingen.

"Lieutenant Oliver!" she called to a young officer who was standing by. "Take one of the runner craft and take this to the rebel base in Jidoor. Make sure you are not seen..."

As the soldier walked out, she began to pace anxiously back and forth across the room. She could only hope that Merine would listen to reason...

She stumbled to her feet and fumbled her sword as she prepared to face the flying Gargoyle, with Magitek enhancements. All she had going for her was the dragoon boots, and the sky was no place to hide from someone like this.

"COME NOW, GENERAL. SURELY YOU CAN PUT UP A BETTER FIGHT THAN THIS!"

She faced him, and she felt something she hadn't felt in a long time: fear. She had been able to laugh in the face of certain death, to hold hands with danger and become friends with pain, even her fight with Kefka had just been another day-at-the-office to her. But now, she actually felt scared. She knew that this huge Gargoyle could easily pick up her fragile body and break it in two without her even putting up much of a fight.

She pulled herself to her full height. If she was going to die today she would die as she lived, with a sword and her spunk with her.

"I've let you win the first few rounds, but this time I'm fighting back."

Lore laughed. Celes couldn't help buf smile herself; she probably looked like an ant to this huge thing, threatening to destroy it. She glanced backward; Rosa and Terra were getting up. What was that old saying? "The weak can band together..." She was certain she had read that somewhere. Maybe Rosa or Rydia could fill her in on it later; she was sure it was from their times.

That was, if there would be a "later."

"PREPARE TO BE DESTROYED!" Lore screamed.

"COME AND GET ME, BASTARD!" Celes shouted back, equally loud.

The gargoyle flew right at her, and she slashed at it. It wasn't much of an attack, but she was able to keep herself alive long enough for Rosa and Terra to pull themselves together.

The three lined up, weapons drawn, ready to attack. Lore stood at his full height, bearing down on them, much like a huge dog would look down at a Veldtian flea.

Celes looked at the two women on either side of her. "If I don't get to say it later..." Celes found herself at a loss of words for the two people she had come to respect as both fighters and people, "It was nice working with you," was all she could say.

Rosa smiled, "Feeling's mutual," was all she said. Terra glanced at her and said, "Celes, thank you...for everything."

"HOW ENDEARING. CONCERN FOR THEIR FELLOW FIGHTERS." Lore laughed again.

The three fought as best they could. They were able to do a half-decent job, which was helped along by Rydia joining the fray, but Edge was still nowhere to be seen. The wounds they inflicted on Lore weren't nearly as much as the more-powerful, rested, Lore had done on them. "WHAT'S THE MATTER? HAVING TROUBLE DEALING WITH A GOD?" Lore laughed sinisterly again.

Celes, meanwhile, found herself wishing that Lore would turn to stone at daybreak like the other gargoyles, but that was hoping for a miracle again. She couldn't understand it, the dragon before had been so easy...Most of the solides were gone now, she noticed, appearently Sascha and Akfek had decided to pull out of Thamasa. She pulled herself up from the debris around her, as did Rydia, Rosa and Terra. As daybreak came, Celes struggled to pull her blood-soked body up from the rubble around her. She managed to get to her feet, wobble for a few seconds, and then fell back to the ground. Her strength was gone. She turned on the ground, only to see Lore's shape towering over her.

This was it.

"THIS IS IT, EX-IMPERIAL GENERAL CELES. YOU HAVE BEEN A GOOD OPPONENT, SO I OFFER YOU THIS CHOICE, JOIN THE EMPIRE NOW, AS YOU HAD BEFORE, AND YOUR LIFE WILL BE SPARED."

Celes wouldn't give him the satisfaction of succumbing to him. "Never."

"THEN... DIE!"

A voice came from behind him.

"Asura!"

"I don't think so."

Rydia... Edge... Celes couldn't think. She fell unconscious.

Edge, Rydia, Rosa, and Teraa stood at battle-readiness, healed by Rydia's Ashura.

"YOUR PARLOR TRICKS DO NOT AMUSE ME, CALLER!" Then Lore noticed Edge, "AHHH! A NINJA. PERHAPS ANOTHER WORTHY OF MY ATTENTION. HOPEFULLY YOU WILL ENTERTAIN ME MORE THAN YOUR FRIENDS HAVE..." He paused, "OR EVEN THIS ONE." He picked up Celes' body and tossed it casually into a building as if it were so much meat.

"Celes and I have had our differences... but she's my friend, and you'll die for hurting her." Edge drew his swords.

Terra glanced worredly at Celes, "I have to go help her."

"We'll cover you." Rydia whispered.

Terra broke into a run toward Celes.

"Bahamut!"

"Catch these."

"Wall."

As Rosa's wall spell came into effect, two shuriken and a dragon attacked Lore head-on.

"HA!" Lore laughed, sidestepped the shuriken, and started attacking Bahamut. He attacked so fast and so strongly that Rydia couldn't send Bahamut back to the land of the summoned monsters.

"Bio! Ultima! Trinity Attack!" Bahamut was hit by the pure poison of Bio, engulfed in Ultima, and then hit by the three-way fire, ice, and lightning Trinity Attack.

Rydia screamed in pain as Bahamut disappeared.

"NO!" Edge charged Lore.

Rosa bent down near her old friend. "Rydia..." She started to cast cure, but Rydia stopped her.

"When a called monster dies, the caller dies also..." Rydia whispered.

"No! I refuse to believe there's no way." Rosa whispered.

"Any spell you cast on me has no effect. I know my people, Rosa, there is no way."

"Any spell cast on you..." Rosa whispered to herself, a thought forming in her mind.

"Celes!" Terra wakened her friend, and bent down to help her.

"Terra," Celes whispered horsely, "can... can y-you morph still?"

"N-no... I-I haven't tried." Terra was afraid of trying again.

"Try..." She removed the necklace with the orb shard.

"Alright... Lend me your power, Celes, I'm going to need it."

Celes smiled as Terra spun and started to change. The espers were gone, but Terra still had some of the power left, and it was magnified by the orb. Whether it would last after this battle, or just this once, or not at all, Celes didn't know. She didn't really care either, so long as Terra was trying...

Meanwhile, Edge was being beaten by Lore; he needed help.

"Rosa... don't bother yourself with me, you have to help... Edge."

"No, I think I have a way."

"Please, help him, and tell him... I love him."

Rosa closed her eyes. "I bet they didn't even try it..." She stood up. "There is nothing physically wrong with you, but maybe..."

"Life2!"

"That won't work..." Rydia whispered slowly.

"Not on you..."

Bahamut started to reappear. The life spell had brought him back, and thus saved Rydia. Suddenly she came to life, jumping to her feet and drawing her sword. She un-called Bahamut and said, "Come on, let's go!"

Lore fought valiantly, but against three rejuvenenated fighters, and a morphed Terra, even he stood no chance, as Terra dealt the final blow to Lore with her bare hands.

She morphed back into human form and fell to her hands and knees. Rosa ran over to help her, as Edge hugged Rydia. Finally, they all came over to a weak Celes.

"Cure4!"

Celes' wounds closed up, and she immediately felt stronger. She got to her feet.

"Thanks, everyone."

"We all did it... together." Rydia smiled.

Edge looked around, "Guess we're going to have to help rebuild here too."

"Yeah." Celes took a few steps, wobbled, fell, and was caught by Rosa.

"Alright, but not before we all get some rest. Doctors' orders." Rosa said.

"Who made you a doctor?"

"Strange thing to ask of a woman who just saved your life."

Rydia turned away, blushing. The morning sun making her face seem even more red.

And they all laughed, as they walked out of another battle and into a new day.