Chapter 10: Forces
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     Lola was not the only restless one that night.  Her talk of loss
had affected Kain a lot more than he had let on, perhaps more than her
himself knew.  He found that again tonight, sleep would not come to
him.
     When it did, it brought not the most comforting of dreams.  He
would see himself standing with his back to the edge of a cliff,
shadowy yet almost familiar figures standing in front of him.  He was
powerless to do anything.  He could not move.  The figures pleaded for
him to save them, as the horizon faded before them.  He was faced with
the knowledge that he would eventually lose himself as well, watching
those he assumed must be his friends enveloped by the void.  He would
then turn and look down at the inviting rocks below, the easy way out.
He usually woke up then, scarred like he had  never been before.  Sleep
was not his ally.
     As on many sleepless nights, he decided to go for a walk.  He
could tell a storm was brewing, but that did not bother him.  He would
much rather face the harsh reality of nature than the unknowns of his
dreams...  He donned his old blue cloak and travelling clothes, and set
out into the night.
     Cecil, had he not been affected by Lola's words as well, might
have been concerned by his friends reversion to his old wardrobe.
Unfortunately, he was too wrapped up in thoughts of love, loss, and
reconciliation....

*                              *                                 *

     It was a good thing that night that higher power had not so recently
taken an interest in the Dragoon's life.  It was through the silent
guidance of Cecil's father's hand more than anything that led Kain to
find shelter in the caves of Narshe during the heart of the storm.  But it
was more than his health that concerned the deity tonight....
     'Damn Her!' he thought to himself... 'I should have known...'.
He decided it was high time he paid the offending Lady a visit.  That
night, he left his mountain top dwelling to seek out an invisible dome
hidden deep within the dinosaur forest.
     The dome was visible only to the eyes of the gods.  Few but the
most powerful of men and daemons could even detect the immense
magical presence the resided there.  Even when magic had left all other
parts of the world, it had remained here, as this sorcery was  self-
contained and alien..
     It seemed rather small to house a goddess, especially one of
the most powerful (seeing as three of them had been destroyed).  It was
only large enough to fit two people standing, from the outside.  The
trick was that time and space meant nothing inside.  And sometimes,
things escaped.  Local folk lore had developed a story around the forest,
sprouting unknowingly from this very place.  People who walked
through the heart of the forest often experienced strange things, such as
losing time.  Many claimed to be bewitched by a beautiful lady with
long brown hair....
     It was on this spot that the hero Paladin's father now stood.
Preparing himself for anything, or at least making a valiant effort, he
stepped inside.  As usually, no matter what he expected, he got
something completely different.
     He walked into what seemed to be a large underground den.  It
inhabitants were moles.  Either they were extremely oversize, or he had
considerably shrunk.  In the centre of the room was a radio, playing
some kind of bouncy foreign tune.  It had a 4/4 beat, and made him feel
like jumping from one foot to the other.  Suddenly, he felt a weight on
his shoulder.  A shimmering blue figure the shape of a dragon was
nibbling at a stray fibre on his tunic.
     *Not here,* it thought at him.  *You'll have to get through them
first*.  It flew over to one of the moles and promptly buried itself in
the fur.
     He sighed.  She, of all people, should know that they couldn't harm
each other.  He walked over to one of the moles, preparing to un-think
her creation.  Instead, it looked at him, opened it's mouth, and
swallowed him whole.
      He fell through what seemed to be a solid glass wall, and into a
large aquarium.  True to Elanya's contortion of matter, however, the
aqua that surrounded him did not make him wet.  
     He looked around slowly.  At first he saw nothing, except the usual
trappings of an aquarium, including the plastic skeleton, fern, and a
dragonfish.  Then he heard movement behind him, coming from the plastic
fern.
     "NI!" the tall figure shouted as she jumped out from behind the
decoration.  Her movement seemed unimpaired by the water.  "How may I
help you?"
     She was extremely beautiful.  Tall with floor-length dark brown
hair, small features, and a beautiful yet malicious smile.  The most
disconcerting thing was her eyes.  They were reflective, so that when
you looked at her, you saw yourself as she saw you.  She was dressed,
as per usual, in a long burgundy dress, and a grey cloak.
     "I have no time for you games, Elanya!  I have important matters I
need to discuss."  He was becoming unnerved.  He could never, no matter
how hard he tried, be ready for whatever Elanya would do next.  It had
always been like that.
     "Oh." she responded simply.  "Wanna cookie?  Chips Ahoy."  From
nowhere she produced a plate of the treats.  "They're a bit soggy."
     Before he had a chance to refuse, the fish came along.  It was
hungry, and seeing food, it ate.  Elanya kicked it.  She waved her hand,
and they were suddenly transported to a large stone chamber, obviously
a conference room of sorts.  It was lit only by glowing balls of light
held by large stone elves.
     "Stupid fish!  Here."  she produced another platter, this time
accompanied by a pitcher of milk.  She set them down on a large table
that had appeared especially for that purpose.  On it were two glasses
into which she proceeded to pour the milk.  She passed one to him.  "So
what were you saying?"
     He sat the milk down.  It grew eyes and legs, glared at him, and
walked away of the table, where it started jumping up and down on his
foot.  He frowned, and waved his hand to make it disappear.  "This is
about Kain," he began.  He wanted to spend as little time as possible in
Elanya's chaotic world.  "What the hell are you trying to do to him?"
     She seemed about to hive a serious reply,  but instead, slumped
over on the floor.  The god was not quite sure what to do.  He tried
several times to shake her awake, but to no effect.  He eventually came
to the conclusion that the only thing he could do was to make her
comfortable. By this time, she was mumbling incoherently about
something or other.  He laid her down on the table, as there was
nowhere else to put her.  He decided to wait it, whatever 'it' was, and
began to examine the room more closely.
     There really wasn't much to see. There were no exits, and all the
statues were the same.  He was thankful that she was beginning to
come out of it after only a few minutes.   She was soon completely
awake and stood up.
     "Sorry," she apologized, sitting down on one of the seven chairs
that had suddenly materialized.  'It's the sight you know... I keep having
these visions....  Interesting though...Seems our friend Edge is now a
time traveller.  But what were you saying about Kain?  I thought the
treatment was going rather well!?"
     "Yes, I'm sure it is... but _what_ are you doing?  He's losing
himself!"  He was a bit put off by what she had said about Edge, but he
would concentrate on that later.
     "Oh, well that's part of it.  That's what he asked for, isn't it?"
She saw the look of imminent doom flash across Cecil's father's face.
"Isn't it?"
     'So that's what happened."  He had know that something had
gone wrong during the ritual, be he had never been quite sure what.  It
seemed that Kain had improperly phrased the request to the Goddess.
This could pose several problems, depending on what he had asked..
"What _exactly_ did he ask for?"
     "Well I thought it was strange at the time, but he made two
requests.  It wasn't in the perimeters of the ritual, but, oh well."  True
to her nature, she really didn't care.  "He asked, hmmm.... 'To be free from
the corruption of the forces of evil so they could  hold no further
influence over him', and something about cleansing his conscience
through loosing that part of himself that had been evil.  I forget."
     "Remember."
     "Bite me!  I know what I'm doing!  Geeze... you 'good' people."
she said the word as if it were a derogatory comment.  "You're just like
your son.  You think you deserve a hero cookie for making the world a
'happy' place.  You know why there is so much evil in the world now?
It's because before there was TOO MUCH good.  Now the Master's
back, and that demon guy, and even just evil men.  Kefka was just the
beginning.  He was a snappy dresser though.  And he never should have
ignored his brother like that.  Akfek would have made such a great
painter... but that's besides the point.  Have you ever noticed how many
of _you_ there are?  There's the returners, General Celes's group, your
son, and countless others!  How many people do you think know what
really needs to be done?  None.  So I'd like to have one, at least, to
restore the proper balance.  So bite me."
     "Well, why can't you use the people that are considered 'good'?
What's wrong with them?"
     "Ha!  What's wrong with them?  They are too good.  It's so easy
to make good people evil.  All you have to do is flip them over.  Just
switch them into reverse.  But if someone is truly neutral, making
them the opposite of what they are does nothing.  It's like a two headed
coin.  Look at what happened to Edgar!  And there's also the risk of
becoming too good.  Like general Celes is.  She battles all the evil,
taking it on almost singlehandedly.  What do you think will happen when
she finally wins?   She'll star to seek it actively, seeing evil where
there is none.  Everything will be good. What will happen to the
Balance then?"
     The God had an idea.  "What about Garland, and the other
fiends?  Wouldn't the Lord of Chaos be the perfect one for you to
control?"
     "Garland is here for other purposes.  If he were not, he would.
You're right.  But he seeks only his orbs.   He may be distracted for
awhile, but eventually, he will turn.  It does not, then he is not truly
then he wouldn't be very chaotic, would he?  No, once he realizes who
has his precious orbs, his attentions will be turned from saving the
world."
     "But none of this gives you the right to change Kain against his
will!"  He was getting desperate.
     "I'm not!  The only way he can not be evil is to not be good.
The only way he way he can lose his goodness is to lose himself.  He
has to learn how not to care."
     The Goddess of Apathy had some good points, but he had
promised to look after Kain.  He could not let her have him.  He
decided he would have to stoop lower.
     "How are you going to use him if he jumps off another cliff?" he
questioned.
     "I'm not the one who has sworn to watch over him, am I?"  She
smiled smugly.  "This bores me.  Be gone."
     Suddenly he found himself back in the forest, outside the
dome.
     "Damn you Elanya!"  I swear I will not let you have him as
easily as you might think..."

*                                  *                                 *

     Meanwhile, back in the caves, Kain had fallen asleep, alone to
wait out the storm.  His dreams were not his usual, filled instead with a
strange woman with long hair...