She had morphed!

Not just some elemental trickery morph, either. An actual one. She still had the ability to do so. She just needed magic. A steady, accessible supply of magic. Maybe the reason she could morph before was because Shade was almost pure magic. Like an esper. Maybe she should seek out an elemental to help her -

"Penny for your thoughts?" she heard Celes behind her say. She turned around and watched as Celes carefully tread down the roof to the edge Terra was at.

"How'd you get up here?" Terra asked.

"Same as you. The people who live here rather like coming to the roof so they had a stairway built over there."

"Hmm.. Wish I had known. I thought that they had made the chimney with those bricks sticking out so that you could easily climb up." Celes couldn't help but laugh. "At least they never use it." Terra said, feeling sheepish.

"Hahahaha.. Okay.. >COUGH< What have you been doing up here?"

"Thinking. Celes, you say that orb shard is magical?"

"Yes. If you would like, I could cut it in half and give it to you." Celes said, taking it off from around her neck.

"Hmm. No. It seems to me that that is merely a magical item, and a finite one at that. I'm not sure if I want to rely on it. Should it ever run out of magic while I'm flying.." Terra said. Celes nodded and put it back on.

"So what are you going to do about it?" She asked,

"I don't know if I want to do anything. I just got re-used to life without my magic and metamorphosis ability. I suppose I could seek out some form of magic."

"Hmm.. If you do, tell Rydia. She said that once you regain your ability you qualify as a call monster and she could summon you." Celes smiled.

"Hmm... I don't really think so."

"So... seen Edward recently?" Celes said.

"No. We haven't really had the chance to talk or anything for a while."

"Ah. Uhm, getting back to your morphing, what do you think you're going to do about magic?" Celes asked.

"I was thinking of seeking out one of these... elementals... and obtaining its power."

"How?"

"Well, from what I've heard, there are eight elementals. There is Gnome of Earth, Luna of Moon, Dryad of Plants, Shade of Darkness," She shuddered involuntarily. "Lumina of Light, Undine of Ice and Water, Salamando of Fire, and Sylphid of Air."

"How did you find all this stuff out?"

"How do you think? I spent three weeks basically doing nothing in Figaro, and we stayed in Kohlingen long enough to talk to a lot of people. I learn these things from rumors. Rumors travel faster than the truth, but sometimes the truth hitches a ride."

"Hmm.."

"Anyway, Luna is too unfocused to be suitable for me, Shade is right out, Gnome is okay but I don't think we quite connect. Dryad seems ideal, except for the fact that these four are, supposedly, being used by Sascha and Akfek. Salamando, Undine, and Sylphid seem suitable, I just don't feel they'd be right. So, the two ideal Elementals are Lumina and Dryad. Which means my best bet is with Lumina. Unfortunately, Lumina is with Strago, Relm, and some weird thing with huge feet and I have no idea where they are. Supposedly of course." 'But there's the possibility Lumina might come to you. It did before, if it really was Lumina that came to your aid.' She thought.

"Interesting. I guess you've got your work cut out for you."

"Indeed. You know what annoys me the most about this whole deal, though? The fact that I was, basically, the first person with magic in this magic revival, I was born with it naturally, and now everyone BUT me has magic. I mean, Mog was flying around with my complete Esper half! How fair is that?"

"Hmm.. Life is never fair."

"Yeah. Things could be worse, I suppose. I could have been raised in the Esper world, kidnapped by Gestahl, and ended up being one of the Espers that gave themselves to us. Plus, I still have hope. Just as long as there's this." Terra said, sweeping her hand toward the horizon. There was a beautiful sunset in progress. Neither of them spoke after that. They just sat and watched the sunset.

_________________________________________________________________

The wind blew wildly and the waves clashed together like armies at war. The ship rocked side to side and all the passengers were clinging .... desperately to anything they could lay a grip on.

"Lile, where did you leave the elementals? We could sure use their help now," asked Strago as he grasped at a pole. Suddenly, the wind blew his feet off the deck of the ship and the old man tightened his grip on the pole, the only thing that prevented him from flying into the raging sea.

Unfortunately, the wind and rain shrouded his message and all the sprite could see were the old man's lips moving but heard nothing else. "Speak up! I can't hear you!"

"Where are Salamando, Sylphid, and Undine!" hollered the old man again.

"Here are salami silk undies? Say it again! I still can't hear you!"

This time, Strago raised his voice further and bellowed with all his might, "No, no, where are the elementals!"

"Oh, the elementals! They're sleeping on the deck below."

The waves grew fiercer and fiercer until a gigantic wave came crashing down on the ship, ripping the hull apart. The passengers were forced to abandon the ship as the ship was torn apart. The little sprite clung onto a piece of wood and watched as the mighty ship sank to the ocean floor...

_____________________________________________________________________________

The last few weeks of walking had exhausted the little sprite and he was glad to be approaching a nearby town. In front of the town stood two soldiers and before Lile could enter the town, the soldiers halted him. "Stop! Who are you? What is your business here in Albrook?"

"My name is Lile. I'm awfully tired and I need some food. Could I please get by?"

The soldiers laughed and said, "Scram kid. We don't want you here. Go on... get!"

The poor sprite turned around and prepared to leave. While he was walking away from the soldiers, a glass like stone fell from his pockets. The soldiers gazed at the stone and then whispered amongst themselves. One of them turned to the sprite and exclaimed, "Hey you! We'll let you in if you give us that stone there."

Lile picked up the stone and replied, "Okay. I found this in a cave and I thought it was pretty. Do you think it is pretty too?"

"Yeah, whatever kid. Just hand it over," and the soldier snatched the stone from Lile. "How many more of these do you have?"

"I only have two of these kind," answered the little sprite.

"Give us the other one too and we'll let you in," the other soldier demanded.

Lile pulled the other one from his pocket and handed it over to the soldier. "Can I please go in now??"

"Go on kid. Get in fast before I change my mind."

The soldiers continued conversing with each other while the little sprite entered the town. They talked at a low voice but he overheard one of them say, "Sucker. I'm sure I'll get a lot for these diamonds he gave us!" The soldiers sounded happy to receive the stones so Lile was glad for having performed such a good deed.

The sprite wandered around the town until he saw a man, wearing a red bandana with a black patch lying over his eye, hiding in a group of trees. He motioned for Lile to come over so Lile approached the man. "Hi there. Are you playing 'hide and seek'? Can I play too?"

"Pssst, keep it down kid. I'm a merchant. Do you have a papa or mama?"

"I don't know who my parents are. I'm still trying to find my way home."

"He he. You're funny kid. Say, I have these funny looking creatures here. They've been a nuisance to me but I'm sure you'll have fun with them." The man pulled out a bag and opened it. Inside lay three funny looking creatures which Lile quickly recognized as the elementals he had lost at sea.

"Let us go, you ugly smelling cockroach," fired one of the elementals, Salamando.

"Sheesh, I gotta get rid of these pests. Whadda ya say kid? Show me what you have in your pockets and maybe I'll trade 'em to ya."

Lile pulled out some green stones from pocket and displayed them to the merchant. The merchant examined the stones Lile was holding and an expression of glee overwhelmed his face. "I'm rich! Kid, I'll trade these freaks for those emeralds you're holding. Deal?"

"Okay, it's a deal then." The little sprite handed over the gems, picked up the bag and then his curiosity propelled him to ask, "Do all merchants have a patch over their eye like you?"

"Uhh, I'm a special type of merchant. I get my merchandise by swindling people. Say, which way are you heading? If you give me more of those stones, I can get you on board a ship heading to Thamasa."

The sprite dug into his pocket pulled out anything left inside but he had given the last of his shiny stones to the merchant.

"I don't have any more. I think I gave my last one to you. I have some other stones but they're much smaller than the ones I just gave you."

"Uhh, you're holding sand kid and I don't want that. In that case, I can't help you then. Now leave me alone and go play with those pets I gave you."

"Don't trust this man, Lile," said one of the elementals, Sylphid. "He's afraid of the soldiers so I think you should report this man."

"No! Not the soldiers! If they discover I'm doing business without paying them commission, they'll have me hanged. Okay, kid, if you keep your mouth shut, I'll get you out of here at night. Meet me at the dock tonight and I'll slip you out of this town. I have a boat at the dock and we'll use that to reach a secret ship that will be waiting a little further out after sunset. Not a word of this to anybody - if the Empire finds out about this, I'm a dead man."

"Who is Empire? Is that one of your friends? Does he like pretty stones too?" inquired the little sprite.

"The Empire? With all the toys they have, you don't wanna mess with them."

"Empire has lots of toys? Can I meet Empire one day?"

"That's a good one kid. Remember, meet me at the dock tonight. I gotta go now. See ya."

When the night approached, Lile headed towards the dock, just as the merchant had instructed. Two soldiers sitting, in some kind of vehicle that Lile had never seen before, stood guard at the dock but they were sleeping, snoring loudly as they slept and Lile easily slipped passed them.

The merchant was already in his boat, waiting for the little sprite to arrive. Lile, quietly got onto the boat, carrying the elementals in his bag with him. The merchant untied the rope that held the boat to the dock and slowly rowed out to sea. Soon, they reached a ship and were helped on board by the ship's crew and within moments, the ship set sail for Thamasa.

* - * - *

The days passed by and Lile thought of Strago. Perhaps the two would meet again if chance would allow. Thamasa was Strago's home town and maybe the old man had found his way home. The little sprite though, spent most of his time thinking about his home and what it would look like and often wondered if his home was similar to this world. Perhaps others like him had entered this world too ....

"Umm... Dad? Is Leo coming?" One of the boys asked.

"Be patient, he's almost here." The bearded man said. Soon another mother and her small dusty blond-haired son came into the clearing.

"Sorry I'm late." The woman began with the man. Her son came and sat in the chair by them all.

"-gin soon anyway. Where are the cakes?" the man said. A woman came with two cakes with five candles on them. They were lit and taken out to the two boys. The rest of the children began to sing.

"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Kefka and Akfek! Happy birthday to you!" They all sang off-key. Except for the freckled girl. She always sang well. The two boys blew out their candles. Everyone cheered. Once all the presents were opened, the five kids were left alone save for some strategically placed Guardians.

"What should we play?" Kefka said. He was always eager to do something.

"Hide and seek?" the green haired girl ventured.

"Cool, Terra! Who's it?" the blond haired girl said.

"1... 2... 3... NOT IT!" Terra said. They all said "not it". Kefka and Akfek said it at the same time.

"You're it!" Kefka said with glee.

"Nuh uhh! You're it!" Akfek yelled, sticking his tongue out. Kefka pushed Akfek to the ground. Akfek always had been rather weak.

"Everyone put their fists in!" Leo said. They all did so. "Okay," he said, and began one of those rhymes that you tap the people's fists as you go. He landed on the freckle faced girl.

"You're it, Celes!" He said. She pouted, then turned to a tree and began counting. They all ran into the forest.

"Eleventy teen... Grenty thousand ninety eight.. Ready or not!" she said, turning around. She saw something green and ran to it. She discovered it was a branch. Then she saw something move and ran for it. She found Leo up in one of the low branches and tagged him easily.

"Aww.." He muttered. Terra came out laughing.

"Alley alley oxen-free!" Celes yelled. They walked back to base. While they waited for Akfek and Kefka to get back, Leo got out a small knife he had.

"Hey, watch this!" he said, and then flipped his knife around and a small beam engulfed him and killed a small squirrel thing that was passing by.

"Ooh! Can you teach me that?" Terra squealed. Kefka and Akfek came back.

"Who's it?" Akfek asked.

"Leo!" Celes said triumphantly.

"Onnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeeee!!!!!!" he began, turning to the tree. They all scattered.

* - * - *

The five kids were sitting around Kefka and Akfek trying to start a fire with two sticks and two stones respectfully. Terra, Leo, and Celes were all setting up a tent.

"The palindrome twins are never gonna get a fire started!" Celes exclaimed. That's what they had called Kefka and Akfek ever since they learned what it meant.

"Yeah, they should let me do it." Leo said.

"Ha! Bet I could do it better than you!" Terra said.

"I'm older than you, so there!"

"Unh Unhh! I'm three months older!"

"Oh, yeah.."

"Hee hee! That's telling him, Terra!"

"I'm older than them at least. They're only eight. I'm nine. I could do it." Leo said, and went over to them once the tent was done. "Hey, we're hungry!" He yelled.

"Shut up! This is hard!" Kefka yelled.

Terra walked over. "Look, let me help you with the fire..." she said, stretching out her hand. Once she said Fire though, she felt a huge burst of energy leave her. It burned Kefka's hands.

"Owwww!" he yelled, jumping up and running around. Akfek ran to get a cure potion. Once his hands were healed, they all turned to her.

"How... how'd you do that?" Celes asked.

Terra couldn't answer.

* - * - *

"But WHY can't we see Terra anymore?" Akfek yelled. His father, or surrogate in the least, stood before him in his robes. His hair was beginning to get a little gray.

"You know what she did to Kefka's hands. She might hurt you all." Gestahl said.

"I wanna see her though! She was fun!" Kefka stamped his foot. The bickering continued. Finally Gestahl grounded them. None of the four ever saw Terra again. At least, not for ten years. By that time all of them had forgotten. Except Kefka. The scars always reminded him. Once he learned about magic he became extremely interested in Terra as well, because her powers developed far sooner than the rest of theirs had. Very interesting...

* - * - *

Terra woke up with a start. She had completely forgotten that she had known them all when she was a little kid. It would make sense though. They were all basically raised by the Empire. She got out of bed and winced as the soreness hit her again. She stood up and stretched, feeling her back and numerous other joints pop. Then she went to have breakfast.

* - * - *

"Terra! When you're done, could you go to the dock to help with some of the materials we're receiving?" Celes asked, coming over to where Terra was eating.

"Sure, I'll go right now." she said, and finished her coffee. She got up and left the Inn they were staying at and went down to the dock. The ship was just pulling into the harbor. She went onto the ship to talk to the captain about the materials and paid some of the sailors to unload the things. As she was leaving, she nearly tripped over a short thing with rather large feet.

"Yeow! My foot!" It shouted and hopped around clutching its foot.

"Sorry!" she exclaimed, and knelt down.

"It's... okay." He winced. "Ow. My name's Lile, what's yours?"

"Terra. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. It's my fault. Would you like some of these rocks I found in a cave?" He asked, and took out a bag and opened it. To Terra's surprise, she saw several gems and diamonds and other precious stones.

"Umm.. no thanks.." She said. 'Why would he just offer them to a total stranger?' She wondered. As he was closing the bag, she noticed a strange creature among the gems. "Hey! What's that?" She said. He reopened the bag.

"Oh, that's just one of my friends. Wake up!" He said, and shook the bag a little. Out came three creatures. One was fiery red and was radiating heat, the other a dark blue and was giving off coldness, and the third was some mouse creature.

"These are... Elementals..." she said, leaning back and staring.

"Indeed. I'm Undine, Elemental of Water. These are my cohorts Salamando of Fire and Sylphid of Air. Hey... I've heard of you..." Undine said, staring at Terra.

"You're.. Terra? We've heard of you!" Salamando exclaimed.

"Yes.. Is Lumina with you?" Terra said hopefully.

"Lumina? No, she's with that Relm girl." Sylphid said.

"Terra, we have heard that you were once a being like us." Undine said.

"Well.. kind of.."

"Would you like our powers?" Salamando asked.

"Sure!" Terra said, standing up. Sylphid nodded, and began to chant. Suddenly, Terra felt a surge of magical energy entered her.

She screamed rather loudly.

"Break it off!" Lile yelled urgently. Sylphid stopped and Lile ran to Terra. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I don't know.." Terra said.

"I can tell you. She is closely linked with magic foreign to ours. Since it is in blood she cannot take it in. With a little more work, though, I think we can do it. If Terra wants to.." Sylphid said. They all stared at her. She stood up again and took a deep breath.

"Do it. All three of you. Do not stop until it is complete." She said. They all nodded and began to chant in unison. She felt the energy flow into her, and the pain wracked at her. She bit her lip and clenched her fists. The pain slowly decreased, and the magic began to feel more familiar to her. Her body slowly began to morph and rise into the air. Finally they completed the transfer and she floated, fully morphed, in the air.

"Thank you." She said. They all nodded. Lile opened the bag.

"Everyone back in! The ship's almost going to go!" The Elementals looked at each other.

"What will happen if we do not stay with her though?" Undine asked.

"I have an idea." Salamando said. He reached into the bag and took out a ruby. He concentrated fora few minutes, then the ruby began to glow. Undine saw what he was doing, and retrieved a blue sapphire to do the same. Sylphid took a diamond and did the same. They pressed the gems together and formed the three stones into some sort of medallion. They got something to put it on and gave it to Terra.

"Here you are, wear it on your neck and you'll be able to always utilize our powers." Undine said, handing the medallion to Terra. She put it on. They all said goodbye and entered the bag. Lile tied it up, said goodbye, and went to speak with the captain. Terra demorphed and walked back, her mind reeling from the day's events.

Lile proceeded to the Mayor's house with the 3 elementals following him. The Mayor's house was under construction too and the little sprite found the Mayor behind the house, nailing a stretch of wood onto his house. The Mayor stopped his work when he noticed Lile coming up the walkway. "Hello there, little one. I see you found the other elementals."

The little sprite introduced the Mayor to the 3 elementals. "You've met Undine and these other two are Salamando and Sylphid. The fourth one is with Relm right now."

The Mayor examined the elementals and was pleased with Lile's work. "Good job, little one. A man named 'Banon' said he wanted to see you and the elementals you have. I think you should visit Banon. A ship will arrive here later and its next destination is Jidoor, where Banon is. Go to the inn in Jidoor and find a man named 'Broak.' He's expecting you and he'll take you to Banon..."

A few hours later, the ship heading towards Jidoor arrived and Lile boarded the ship. The passengers were lead to their rooms and soon, the ship departed for Jidoor. The little sprite slept peacefully for the first few nights but on the fifth night, he encountered a mysterious dream...

____________________________________________________________________________

A white, stocky figure, with small arms and legs, and two mini wings on the back, stood under a tree. The little sprite could not identify the creature but in some way, he felt like he had seen it before. He approached the creature and asked, "Who are you?"

"Kupo!" responded the teddy bear like figure.

"Huh? You shouldn't talk when you're mouth is full," said Lile.

"Kupi! Kupoppo! I'm a moogle!"

"Moogle?" The little sprite examined the moogle who appeared vaguely familiar.

"Kupi! Kupoppo! Walk the seasons from spring to winter, spring again and we can enter..."

"Um ... Huh?? Where do I enter?"

"Kupi! Kupoppo! Walk the seasons from spring to winter, spring again and we can enter..."

___________________________________________________________________________

The sprite awakened, and realized it was just a dream. Undine, Salamando, and Sylphid were still sleeping under the bed and snoozing quite loudly too. Lile jumped down from his bed and woke all three elementals. "Rise and shine, guys," Lile called.

Agitated, Salamando responded, "Oh, Lile. I just experienced the most wonderful dream! I was relaxing in a soothing, warm pool of lava and admiring the tranquillity... and then you woke me up!"

"I had a dream too. Some creature calling itself a moogle was just talking to me. It looked like a white teddy bear and had two small wings on its back. Do any of you know what a moogle is?"

Salamando shook his head. "A teddy bear with wings on the back? You know, I've heard rumors about a horse with a horn sticking out of its head." The other two elementals didn't know what a moogle was either.

"Ok, guys. You can go back to sleep then but don't snooze to loudly. You're terrifying the passengers."

In the days that followed, the little sprite contemplated on the dream he had and the creature that called itself a 'moogle.' He wondered about the statements the moogle had said and why it even appeared in his dream...

The little sprite asked the man, "Is this the inn?"

The man replied, "The inn is on the western side of the town. This is the Auction House where people bid on merchandise."

"Can I go in?" inquired Lile.

"No, you shouldn't go into the auction house. You look so weird that if you were in there, somebody might bid on you."

Following the man's advice, the Lile headed to the western half of the town and there, he found the inn. Inside the inn stood the innkeeper and there was another man standing in the corner who motioned to the little sprite. "Psst, hey you. I'm Broak."

Lile approached the man. "You're broke? Here, take these coins I found on the ship that took me here."

"No, I'm not broke!" retorted the man, infuriated.

"What? You just told me you were broke!"

"No, that's my name, dimwit!"

"Oh, you're 'Broak.' I'm sorry then. The Mayor of Thamasa told me to meet you here. Hi, I'm Lile."

"Good. I see you brought the elementals with you so I'll take you to Banon then."

They proceeded to the back of the inn where Broak lifted one of the beds and then hoisted a hidden wooden panel beneath, where a stairway lay. Lile, with the elementals, trailed Broak down the stairways and after passing many hallways, they arrived at the door to Banon's room. Before they entered, Lile tugged on Broak's pants. "Uh, sir. My bladder is bursting. I gotta let it off reeeal soon. Is there a washroom nearby?"

"Yeah, go down this hallway and make a right. I'll be waiting for you in Banon's room with the rest of the elementals. Hurry before you leak it all over this new carpet."

The sprite found his way to the washroom and entered. A few moments later, he darted out of the washroom, panting, and gasping for air. "Ewwwww, that stench was horrible!" The sprite took a few deep breaths and remarked, "I've been to places that smell but this place reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeks!"

On his way back to Banon's room, Lile noticed a door with the words "Weapons Storage: Authorized Personnel Only!"

"Geez, I wonder if there are any toys in here," pondered the little sprite and he opened the door. Inside, there were many fascinating devices but the one that particularly caught the attention of Lile was some type of vehicle similar to the one he had encountered in Albrook. "Wow, lots of toys in here! Yippie!" The sprite dashed up to the vehicle and tripped over a sign that he failed to notice. It read, "Magitek Armor. Stay off!"

Lile kicked the sign away and proceeded to climb the machine. While playing with the controls, he accidentally stepped on the pedals and the machine moved forward a few paces. He pushed on a stick and the arms moved. Shortly, he was clumsily walking around the room with the Magitek Armor.

The fun ended when Broak sprinted into the room. "Lile, stop this nonsense before you break that thing! We had a hard time stealing it!"

The little sprite was having so much fun, he ignored Broak. "Mwa, ha, ha. I am Dr. Doom from the Y-Zone! Kneel before me, puny squirrel, or I'll turn you into fresh paste!"

"I am not a puny squirrel! Now get off that thing... right... NOW!"

The little sprite sprang to the ground, furious that playtime was over, and angrily said, "Phooey! You're no fun at all!"

Broak lead Lile back to Banon's room, where Banon was waiting to meet the little sprite. "You must be Lile," voiced an old man with white hair and a white mustache. "I'm Banon. I've already become acquainted with your elemental friends. Lile, these elementals are very valuable to us."

Lile replied, "They're valuable to you? Oh, please don't sell them at the Auction House!"

Banon laughed. "Oh, no, of course not. But, I would worry if they fell into the wrong hands. To prevent that, I was planning to have them hidden."

"Where will you hide them?" questioned the little sprite.

"The elementals should be hidden in the proper environment where they can utilize their powers. Sylphid will be taken the mountains behind Narshe since it's quite windy there. Salamando will be hidden in Phoenix Cave where he should feel pretty warm with all that lava. Since there's an entire ocean to hide Undine, I chose the Solitary Island since people rarely go there and there's also a nice beach for Undine to play on. The elementals have already agreed to be hidden."

The three elementals nodded their heads. "Banon is right, Lile. We need to be hidden," acknowledged Undine.

Lile looked at the three elementals and felt depressed because he would be leaving them. A single tear rolled from his eyes, down his cheek. The little sprite wiped the tear from his face. He hugged all three elementals and said, "Good bye you three. I'll be going now but I hope to come back soon."

"Good bye Lile. We hope to see you soon. Take care," answered Undine. The elementals waved at the little sprite and Lile exited the room. He left Jidoor and still wondered about his dream with the moogle. Perhaps if he found one, it could help him reach home...