Chapter 2: Back to the Good Life
              --------------------------------

   "You get off 'ere," yelled the captain of the ship over
the high winds. Joga looked at the small rowboat that tossed
back and forth in the high wind and waves off the side of
the larger boat.
   "You don't expect me to row to the shores of Doma in that
do you?!" yelled Joga back. "Not in the middle of this
storm!"
   "It's less than a mile to the island," said the captain
with a smile, "and this ain't no storm! Mother Nature's just
playin' with ya! Besides, you get what you pay for."
   "Can't you take me just a little closer?" Joga asked,
still having to raise his voice over the wind.
   "Stop yer yammering!" The captain pushed Joga from behind
and sent him sprawling into the rowboat. Whipping out a
dirk, the captain quickly severed the rope that held the
rowboat to the larger boat. "Good luck, landlubber!" laughed
the captain as the rowboat floated towards Doma with Joga in
it.
   As Joga scrambled for the oars, he thought of how, if he
survived this, he would have to see if a price is on that
guy's head. As he started rowing, he looked over his
shoulder to the island, some two thousand or so feet away.
It wouldn't have been a difficult row except for the storm.
Rowing hard against the wind and waves, he tried not to
think about all the reefs and such just under the water. As
his strength began to fail around five hundred feet from
shore, a large wave hit the side of the boat and half filled
it with water. Worse yet, the momentum of the wave sent the
boat slamming into large reef, impaling it. 'Not good,'
thought Joga as he was thrown into the icy water. 'At least
I'm not wearing any armor,' he thought as he tried his best
to swim the rest of the way. The waves seemed to subside for
a moment, as if some divine force was looking out for him
and wouldn't let him die. Then a big wave came up and
crashed him into a jagged rock a hundred feet from shore,
knocking him unconscious.

*            *              *               *

   The Commander quietly opened the door to Doma's throne
room and slipped in. Inside was Akfek, pacing the floor back
and forth, yelling at a group of troopers that had recently
let a important prisoner escape. Not foolish enough to
interrupt Akfek in the middle of his rantings, he patiently
waited for him to finish reprimanding the guards. After
about twenty minutes later when the guards left and Akfek
slumped into the throne, the Commander finally approached
him.
   "Sir," he said saluting, "I have news that may intrest
you."
   "It had better," said Akfek, rubbing his temples, "for
your sake. I have a headache."
   "Um, well," said the Commander nervously, "a man recently
washed up on the shore just west of here. A patrol found him
and brought him to the infirmary."
   "So far I'm not intrested," said Akfek, leaning on a
hand.
   "We brought him around with a Fenix Down," continued the
Commander quickly, "He says that he was a Magitek Knight in
the former Empire."
   "Really..." said Akfek, raising an eyebrow and becoming
mildly intrested. Noticing this, the Commander clammed down
a little.
   "He said his name is Joga Dom, and he kept going on about
how the Empire was his life before it collapsed and how he
wants to join the new one. I checked out his story in what
records we have left from the old Empire and he was in
there. Seems he was quite loyal, raised through the ranks
pretty quickly too. He had a Break Blade and a Thunder Blade
on him."
   "That would make sense," said Akfek, thinking back to his
days in the old Empire, "most Magitek Knights were given one
as standard issue weaponry. It's what my brother gave that
traitor Celes to kill her friends with on the floating
continent."
   "Yes. Anyway, he says he's been living as a bounty hunter
for the past few years and hopes to join the new Empire so
that we might utilize his skills."
   "I, Commander, not we," Akfek said evenly.
   "Yes, sir, sorry."
   'So a Magitek-Bounty-Hunter want to join our ranks, eh?'
thought Akfek, 'This comes at a good time. I can use someone
with such skills, not to mention loyalty. I just hope he's
as good as this fool makes him out to be.'
   "Where is he being held?" Akfek asked, standing up.
   "In the infirmary, he's still kind of weak."
   "Fix him up with some Potions," Akfek said while walking
for the door, "and I'll be down in an hour or so."
   "Yes sir," the Commander chimed and saluted again.
   "By the way," said Akfek just before exiting the room,
"what's your name?"
   "Cybril, sir, Scott Cybril."
   "Do you hope to make General someday, Commander?"
   "Yes, sir."
   "Don't..." Akfek said, shutting the throne room door
behind him.
   'Rotten sod,' Cybril thought, bowing his head in dismay.

*            *             *              *

   "Emperor Akfek will be down in a moment so try and look
presentable when he gets here!"
   Joga raised an eyebrow at this young Commander Cybril who
was snapping at him. He didn't look like much. Average
height, average build, average looks, and, from the markings
on his armor, it looked like he was average rank. Only thing
intresting about him were his weapons. They were a matching
pair of strange knifes, about a foot and a half long, with
some engraving on the hilt. He couldn't tell if the blades
were engraved too because they were sheathed, but he guessed
they were.
   Noticing that Joga was eyeing his weapons, Cybril stepped
back. That made Joga chuckle.
   "Do you really think I'd try to take your weapons in the
middle of the heart of the Empire?" Joga asked the
Commander. Cybril only sneered. Then he saw Joga jump up,
looking at something behind him.
   "Get out of the way, Commander," Akfek said, shoving
Cybril aside.
   "Emperor Akfek, I presume," said Joga, bowing low. It had
taken an immense amount of self-control not to balk at the
appearance of Akfek. The rumors didn't do the facts justice.
This guy looked so much like Kefka it was eerie. He hadn't
met a pair of twins that looked so much alike. Only thing
was that Akfek's skin seemed normal.
   "Are you this Joga Dom character I've heard about?" Akfek
said, waving a hand for Joga to stand straight.
   "The same," Joga smiled. "Emperor, I'll get right to the
point. I was once a Magitek Knight. Then the world ended and
I had to become a bounty hunter to survive. I've finally
worked up enough revenue and courage to come back, and might
I say that I've never felt more at home. Except for
Commander Cybril over there," Joga said, jabbing a thumb in
the Commander's direction, "my stay has been wonderful."
Akfek snickered and Cybril gritted his teeth at the last
remark. 'I think I'm gonna like this guy,' Akfek thought to
himself.
   "I've come back because I know the Empire is in a
slump..." Akfek frowned at this, but Joga just continued. He
knew that first impressions were extremely important, and to
change that last statement would make him look foolish and
weak-willed. 'That was probably Cybril's problem,' Joga
thought, 'always trying to say what's pleasing to the ear
instead of saying what he truly thinks.'
   Akfek wasn't obtuse enough to miss this either. Although
he didn't like it being said his Empire was "in a slump", he
couldn't help but admire this stranger's courage in saying
the truth. The truth was that the Empire had had a series of
dire setbacks as of late.
   "...and I figured that perhaps you could use a new player
in the game, maybe one with my skills."
   "From what the good Commander tells me," said Akfek,
"your story is legit. And from what I've seen, I think you'd
make a wise addition to the ranks. You're in. Come with me
to a more private area and we'll talk further on your uses."
Turning to Cybril as he walked out, "Fetch this man's
weapons and meet me in the battle office."
   "Take a lesson, Commander," laughed Joga as he left
behind Akfek. After they had left, Cybril seethed and took
his anger out on a passing trooper by punching him as hard
as he could in the back of the head. Then he stormed out of
the infirmary to fetch Joga's weapons.