Edge watched with grim satisfaction as Rosa fell to her knees,
clutching her throat.  Rosa gazed pleadingly into Edge's cold eye, then
slumped forward.  Nodding, Edge sheathed his Catclaw and pressed a
triangular button on his outer right arm.  A small panel slip up and open,
revealing a small microphone.  Edge brought the microphone to his mouth and
uttered, "Message Priority Alpha-1-Gold."  From Edge's arm, a feminine voice
said, "Roger that."
      Rydia slid to her knees placed Rosa's head in her lap.  Tears welled
in Rydia's eyes.  She shook her head sadly, still unable to understand what
had just happened.  "EDGE!" she shouted.
      Edge ignored her, and calmly waited.  The microphone crackled to life,
and a male voice could be heard.  "Speak," he bade.
      "Target Celes Chere is terminated."
      "No WAY!" the voice exclaimed, followed by loud laughter.  "Excellent
work, Edge!"  A pause.  "Hrm... stupid manual... let's see..."  Another
pause.  "Ah!  Here we are!"
      "Damn you, Edge, look at me!"  Rydia shrieked.
      "Eh?  What was that, Edge?" the voice asked.
      Edge paused.  A tingling ran through his head, causing the room to
fade in and out of focus.  Shaking his head, Edge continued his report.
      "A woman of no consequence was present with Celes."
      "Understood.  Now, listen carefully, Edge..." the voice continued.
      Rydia gently placed Rosa's form on the floor, then rose to her feet.
She sprang at Edge, and stuck him across the face.  "What's wrong with you,
Edge?  It's me, Rydia!  Can't you see what you've done?"
      Edge's crimson eye flared to life, covering Rydia's screaming form
with a grid of neon squares.  Words flashed across his vision: ID Confirm...
Rydia, Caller of Mist.
      "I know who you are," Edge sneered, "Now leave me and tell no one what
you have seen on pain of death."
      Rydia moved back a step, taken aback by Edge's cold words.
      "What's going on over there?" the voice demanded.
      "This woman is Rydia, Caller of Mist.  She refuses to leave my
presence."
      "Deal with her accordingly," the voice stated, "after I tell you
this... Beta-Three-Delta-One-One-Alpha-Two-Gamma-Four-One-Mark!"
      Edge froze into place.  "Access granted.  Proceed, Lord Afkek."
      Rydia was livid.  /Afkek?/ she thought, and muddled over this as Edge
waited for Afkek to speak.
      Afkek continued, "New mission: Search for sources of magic and, when
found, claim and return to base."
      "Acknowledged."
      "That is all.  Afkek out."
      Edge shivered and looked at Rydia.  His living eye softened, and he
approached her.  "Rydia..." he began.
      "Edge...?"
      "You look upset.  What's wrong?"
      "W-what's WRONG?!"  Rydia screamed, and pointed at Rosa's body.  "Look
at what you've done!"
      Edge looked down at Rosa's crumpled form.  Kneeling, he turned her
face to his own.  Horrified, he slowly rose and asked, "I did this?"
      "YES, Edge!  YOU!"
      "Rydia, that is foolish.  You know I would never do anything to hurt
Rosa.  She's one of my best friends."
      "I don't care what you think, Edge.  I saw you with my own eyes."
Rydia burst into frustrated tears.
      "I... I don't understand..."  The room faded out of focus and began
lightly spinning round Edge's head.  Edge staggered back a step, clutching
his forehead.
      "Edge...?" Rydia asked, confusion evident in her face.
      "Woozy..." Edge exclaimed as he dropped to his knees.  Suddenly,
bright light exploded behind Edge's eyes, filling his head with intense
pain.  Edge screamed and thrashed about.
      Rydia watched, unsure of what to do.  She frantically glanced about
the room, and saw the little boy that had rescued Edge.  "Timon!" she
shouted, "Go and find Doctor Tingley!"
      Timon skittered out of his corner and climbed up and out of the hole
in the ceiling, and was gone.
      Edge leapt back to his feet, only to fall over backwards with a loud
crash.  "Room... spinning..." he uttered.  His body suddenly began to
spasm.
      Several minutes later, Doctor Tingley and Timon leapt down the
hole and ran over to Edge's thrashing body.  Tingley withdrew a needle
from beneath his robes and jabbed it into the side of Edge's throat.
He injected Edge with some sort of liquid and Edge suddenly stopped
thrashing.  Edge lay there, quiet, unmoving.
      Tingley turned to Rydia and said, "I've tranquilized him, but it
will only last a half-hour or so... maybe less, given his current
condition."
      Rydia nodded, "That's well and good, Doctor, but... look at Rosa!"
Tingley turned to face Rosa's still-bleeding corpse, and immediately jogged
over to examine her.  He looked up at Rydia and shook his head.  "She is
lost, Rydia.  I'm not sure if there is anything I can do to help her..."
      "Oh, Doctor, there must be something...?"
      "No, Rydia.  Nothing short of magic can save Rosa."
      Rydia snapped her fingers.  "Magic... of course!"  Rydia cupped her
hands together and closed her eyes.  "I may be able to save her yet..."
Rydia began softly chanting.  Opening her eyes, she said, "From the Land of
the Summoned Monsters, I call Asura!  Please bring life back to Rosa!"
      The room suddenly brightened with the flash of Asura's entrance.  Her
heads spun once, twice, then a grim face looked down at Rydia.  "Rydia, this
may be the last time you are able to summon me.  Something is amiss in
the Underground.  Monsters are slowly becoming deaf to your Calls.  I
cannot explain as of yet, but when I learn what is wrong I will find a way
to contact you.  For now, I will lend you my power.  Use it wisely."
Spinning her heads, Asura chanted, filling the room with the light of
Healing.  A small angel floated down from one of Asura's outstreched palms
and kissed Rosa's forehead.  Simultaneously, Rydia felt a surge of power
flow through her body.  She visibly flinched at the sensation.  The light of
Healing swiftly died within the room, and with another flash, Asura was
gone.
      Rosa's eyelids fluttered open as Rydia recovered from the exertion of
her Call magic.  Rising to her feet, Rosa muttered, "What happened...?"
      Rydia swooned, then said, "Rosa, Edge is somehow being controlled by
Afkek... and he has been ordered to find magic sources and take them to
him!"
      Rosa nodded slowly, allowing this new information to sink in.  "And
Edge...?" she asked.
      "Edge has been tranquilized by Doctor Tingley.  He'll be around
soon..."
      Rosa's eyes widened.  "Do you... do you think he will try and kill me
again?"
      "I don't know..." Rydia whispered.  "Doctor?"
      "There is no telling what Edge is 'programmed' to do, ladies.  I am
willing to wager, though, that his 'computer' believes that Celes has been
killed and is no longer a target.  Maybe now he'll recognize who you are,
Rosa..."
      "Let's hope so," Rosa said, "for his sake."
      Edge stirred.  Groaning, he muttered, "Oh... what a headache.  I'm
never drinking again, I swear..."  Looking around at the people staring at
him, Edge shrugged.  "What?"
      Rosa spoke.  "Edge... do you know who I am?"
      "... Y-e-s," Edge said slowly, "Is there a reason that I shouldn't?"
      Rosa smiled, relieved.  "I'm not sure how to answer that, Edge.  Glad
to see you're okay..."
      Edge rose to his feet.  "Yeah, thanks, but what wagon did YOU run
into?  You look worse than you usually do in the morning..."
      Rosa gasped.  "Y... You don't remember...?"
      Edge grinned evilly.  "Hey, I only walked in on you once, and I
apologized, didn't I?  Besides, it wasn't MY fault you hadn't left Cecil's
room by midnight.  You'd think you'd do your fooling around on your own
time, and not when I was all set to have a guy's night out with the group..."
      Rosa crossed her arms, and leaned into Edge's face.  "Edge...!" she
whispered angrily.
      Edge laughed for perhaps the first time since his 'operation'.  "You
were still partly dressed, and under the covers, too... I don't believe that
you're still holding that against me!"
      Rosa flushed.  "N-no, Edge, I..."
      "Not that it bothered me, mind you... but you ARE my best friend's
girlfriend.  Or is that wife now?  Yes, that's right..."
      Rydia stepped in between the two.  "Edge, that's enough.  Now listen.
Edge, you're the one who ripped her apart.  For some reason or other, you
thought that she was Celes."
      Edge shook his head.  "Much as I hate Celes, I don't think I'd kill
her..."
      "She's right, Edge."  Timon approached the group.  "I was there, too."
      "Timon!"  Edge said happily, and reached out to put a friendly arm
around him.
      Timon skittered back.  "Don't touch me..."
      "What's wrong, hero?  I'm not gonna hurt ya..."
      "How do I know that?  I saw you kill one of your best friends... you
are not the Edge that I thought I knew.  You're... some kind of monster!"
      "M... monster?"  Edge said.  Edge lowered his head in sadness.  "Is
that what I've become to you all?"  Edge looked to each person in turn, who
said nothing.  "I see..."
      Rydia broke the silence.  "Edge..."
      "No, Rydia, that's okay," Edge placed an outstretched palm in Rydia's
face.  "I understand.  Really, I do.  Rosa, I'm sorry I killed you.  Timon,
I'm sorry that I let you down.  And Rydia... I'm sorry that I cared."
Shaking his head, Edge ran for the hole in the ceiling and, with one
powerful leap, cleared the hole and left the builing.
      "Edge!" Rydia called, but it was too late.  Edge was gone... again.