The spray of acid rained down on Golbez's form, much smaller than that of the Zombie Dragon. Golbez dived for cover. Golbez managed to roll behind a large chunk of what was once the roof of the AntLion's tunnel. The blast of acid roared inches above Golbez's head, tearing away at the rock. When the Dragon finally relented his acidic breath, the entire rock that hid Golbez was no more. Golbez stared up at the Dragon in disbelief. "That was rather... impressive," Golbez told the Dragon. "I am no ally of yours," Golbez growled. Golbez broguht up his SoulSabre and charged the Dragon's shins. Swinging, Golbez struck the Dragon a glancing blow. The SoulSabre seemed to bounce off the Dragon's hide, almost as if it didn't WANT to hit the Dragon... "Maybe not..." Golbez glanced up at the cavern wall, and grinned. "But I can help someone that can..." Golbez raised the SoulSabre aloft, and pointed it at the crevasse that housed Rydia. Golbez shouted, "LIFE TWO!" The SoulSabre glowed with a bright violet light, and the image of a man appeared above the sword's blade. The image was an exact copy of the thief who Golbez had slain moments before his arrival. The image hovered across the expanse of the cavern, coming to rest beside the unconscious form of Rydia. Reaching out, the image touched Rydia's cheek. Rydia's eyes fluttered open. Staring up at the ceiling of what appeared to be a small cavern, Rydia saw the fading image of a rugged man, who seemed to smile as he vanished. Rydia got to her feet, and looked out from the crevasse. She gasped. "I cannot believe it!" True, how could she believe it? Golbez was fighting a huge Zombie Dragon, while two other forms were seemingly mostly buried in the cavern floor. Rydia suddenly got very frightened. "That is Golbez, the man who Edge was hunting. It is his fault that Celes went berserk and... how... exactly did I get here?" Rydia shook her head in confusion. Golbez and the Dragon danced, with talons and blades crashing against one another. Golbez shouted at the crevasse. "Whoever you are, help me! I cannot defeat this monster alone!" Rydia reached out with her Earth spirit, sensing the two forms embedded in the cavern floor. One of the men she did not know, but the other... Rydia screamed. "EDGE! Edge, I'll get you out of there!" Rydia stood her full height, and inhaled deeply. "From the Land of the Summoned Monsters, I call Titan! Please, get my friend from the cavern floor!" Beside the two trapped bodies, a rumbling grew and took form to become Titan, Master of Earth. With his massive hands, Titan wrenched the cavern floor open, releasing both Edge and Tucker, who was shaken awake by the tremor. "W-Wha...?" Tucker stared at the Titan in amazement. The Titan smiled, and embedded himself back into the earth from whence he came. Tucker got to his feet, and ran for his sword. The Dragon grew angrier as the glancing blows dealt by Golbez were adding up. Snarling, the Dragon stomped the ground with his massive foot. The ground trmbled as if affected by a Quake spell. Golbez stumbled and fell under the immense shaking. Stones and rubble battered Golbez as they shook and bounced across the cavern floor. Rydia called to the monsters for help. "From the Land of the Summoned Monsters, I call Asura! Please, help my friends!" From above the cavern, Asura appeared. Spinning her four heads, she filled the cavern with an intense light. The light of Healing. Tucker felt his full strength return to him, as did Golbez. Edge regained consciousness and was in full fighting condition. From above, Rydia cheered. The Dragon rared and breathed acidic death on Asura, who promptly returned to the Land of Summoned Monsters before harm could be dealt to her. The acidic death slammed into the cavern roof, enlarging the hole that was already there. From above, the Moon shone, and stars twinkled. Edge hopped to his feet, and gave a quick scan of the chamber. Someone was fighting the Dragon from behind. Tucker had just recovered his sword, and ran back to Edge. "EDGE! Glad to see ya, old man!" Tucker gave Edge a high-five, which Edge returned whole-heartedly. "Glad to see you back in working order, Roboboy!" Edge jested. "Let's slam this beastie before it notices we're up and around!" Tucker raised his sword and hurled a ball of flame at the Dragon. "I hear that!" Edge let FullMoon spin through the air. Golbez stood, glaring up at the Dragon. "You're in for it now!" Rydia called down to the others, "You're safe in my hands! Do your worst!" The Dragon spun around, suffering pain from behind. The Dragon clawed and clamped its jaws at Tucker and Edge. Edge deflected the huge claw with his twin blades, and Tucker leapt out of the way with his spring boots. The pair split up, leaving no target for the Dragon's maw. Rydia recognized that the monster was an undead creature, and weak against fire. "From the Land of Summoned Monsters, I call Ifrit! Burn that Dragon to hell!" Ifrit nodded, and scorched the Dragon with hellish fury. Edge battered the Dragon with FullMoon, and Tucker launched another ball of flame into the Dragon's chest. Golbez used his SoulSabre to infect the Dragon with a magical Virus. Rydia pounded away with the aid of her summoned monsters. It wasn't long before the Dragon breathed its last. The Dragon, summoning its last ounce of strength, called forth its desperation attack. The entire chamber shook. The ceiling began to gave way. The Dragon tumbled to dust and bones, its last bit of strength drained with the exertion of the Cave-In tactic. "Rydia!" Edge shouted, "Get down here! We need you!" Rydia leapt the several feet down to the cavern floor, and joined the group. Golbez, not wanting to be recognized, drew his cape over his faced and joined the group as well. Huge boulders rained down from above, threatening to crush the heroes. "From the Land of Summoned Monsters, I call Bahamut! Take my body and carry us out of this death trap!" Rydia urged. The King of Monsters complied. He took Rydia's body and stretched it to mammoth proportions. Rydia sprouted massive wings, a tail, scales... in seconds, she became Bahamut, and Bahamut became Rydia. "Climb aboard," Bahamut offered. The three others hopped on the massive dragon's back, and were whisked away through the hole in the ceiling to safety. Below, the entire roof of the cave collapsed, crushing the eggs that were to be the beginning of the Ebon Flame. ***** Several minutes later, Bahamut touched down somewhere outside what would be known as the wrecked castle of Doma. Bahamut returned Rydia's body, and faded into the night. "Rydia! You're safe!" Edge couldn't resist grabbing Rydia and hugging her, sweeping her off the ground. "Yes! Edge, oh Edge, it's been too long!" Rydia began to cry happily. "I've missed you so, and there's so much to tell...!" Tucker smiled at the two, then looked over at the stranger. "Touching, isn't it? Makes me wish I had stayed where I came from... almost." Tucker winked at Golbez. Golbez nodded. "Touching, indeed. I would think that I would never see those two again... in fact, I was counting on it." Golbez turned away from Tucker, and began to walk toward the rubble of Doma castle. Edge put Rydia down, and ran over to the man who was leaving. "Stranger, I don't know how to thank you..." Edge was estatic. Golbez only grunted in return. "You saved Tucker, myself, and most of all Rydia! Hey! C'mon, let us discuss what we're to do now! We have need of men like yourself..." Edge reached out to Golbez and spun him around. "What's your hurry...?" Edge looked into the eyes of the man who had abandoned him on the moon, left him for dead, and perhaps even plunged the others into a fiery death... into the Sun. "YOU!"