Cecil turned to the fire as Celes motioned for Edgar to join her.
He heard the one whose blood had been tainted by the shadows, as he himself
once had been.  There was still hope for that one, thought Cecil.  His inner
strength rivals what mine had been when I decided to overcome the evil
inside of me.
	As he contemplated, he saw Edgar disappear.
	"Celes!  Did he... NO!"
	Edgar had done what Cecil feared... he had gone to take on Takar.
	"He's not ready!  He'll destroy himself in the effort!  DAMN!"  He
was not about to carry on his conscience Edgar's death if he died.  He
would not let Edgar die...
	Telepathically, he contacted the spirit of his helm.  "Cerebratan,
can you do that teleport thingy again, only send me where Edgar went?"
	"Paladin, it will take time to locate the one called Edgar, but it
is possible."
	Minutes passed, and Cecil waited impatiently.
	"Cecil, what's wrong?"  Celes was trying to find out what had
happened to Edgar, and why Cecil seemed to be talking to himself.
	"Celes, I don't have time to explain..."
	The spirit finally spoke again to Cecil.  "Cecil, he is in the
throne room of the Takar.  If I take you there, it will be hours before I
have enough power to make a return teleport.  The demons there are
powerful, even for a Paladin as thyself.  You have not the means to destroy
them, for the Guardian Spirit is housed not in your sword as of yet.  I
sugg..."
	"My friend's in danger, and I don't give a damn what my chances
are.  I must try and prevent his foolishness!"
	"As you wish, one of Light and Dark."
	Cecil heard Celes scream as everything went blindingly white.

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

	When his vision returned, Cecil was in a throne room that housed a
throne of skulls.  The place was even blacker than his Obsidian Armor, and
it eerily reflected the pulsating glow of his Spirit Shield and Helm.  He
arrived in time to see Edgar disappear with Takar...and also in time to see
the demon Sithon rise from the throne.
	The room housed a few lesser demons, and Cecil cursed his
stupidity.  He really wasn't ready to fight ALL of them at once, especially
not with the sword he had.
	But he didn't need to.  The attention of every inhabitant of the
room, including his own, was fixed upon the ghostly duel that took place.
Oblivious to everything but each other, Takar and Edgar duelled, with Edgar
gaining the upper hand.  Takar had become a pitch black shadow, while Edgar
seemed crimson.
	The battle waged on, Edgar finding his mark with spells and sword
more than Takar, but it wasn't enough.  The scream that ripped the air as
Edgar's body became a smoldering husk from Merton was sickening.  Still,
somehow, Edgar's spirit fought on, his husk of a body crashing through the
dimensions to come at rest upon the floor of the throne room.
	Then all went white and the two figures were gone.
	"EDGAR!  NO!  EDGAR!"  Cecil ran to the smoldering cinder that had
been Edgar; the stench pervaded his nostrils.  The Orb fell from the rift
in dimensions as the room became silent.  Cecil cradled the body of his
fallen comrade.  But time was not something Cecil had at the moment.
	Sithon's voice pierced the Air.  "Fiends, it seems we have an
intruder amongst us.  Dispose of him."  The demons swarmed in while Cecil's
mind raced with options.
	"Well, I guess this is my fate, then..."  Cecil pulled his sword,
knowing what little good it would do him.
	The first demon, a twisted cross of bull and dragon with spittle of
acid, charged him.  Cecil struck out, not with his sword, but rather with
his shield.  The beast screamed as the holy powers of the shield seared its
flesh.  Maybe he couldn't kill them, but at least he could do some damage
before he...
	Wait, the Orb!  "Of course!"  Grabbing the Orb and Edgar's body
while the demons were distracted by their comrade's distress, Cecil
shouted, "EXIT!"  The world spun and he lost consciousness.