Chapter 8: In Which Evil Rears Its Ugly Head Yet Again
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            The Evil one is swift and sure. He will
            send strong minions after the chosen
            one. However, to the one with the given
            powers, even these will be nothing.
                            --The Ancient Prophecies of the Espers
            
            The world has been plagued by evil from
            all sides. From now into eternity, I
            shall watch over the world and protect
            it from the harm that they would do.
                            --The Book of Kefka


	Miguel fell to his knees, and blacked out. Lahndo and Omega rushed to
help, but were held back by an unseen force. Miguel stood, and stared at them,
with a wild look in his eyes.
	"Lahndo. At last I've found you. Now you DIE!" He shouted, and lunged
right at Lahndo's throat. His lunge was stopped in mid-swing by Omega's staff.
	"It's not right for companions to fight amongst themselves," he said.
"Why don't you just relax, and tell us what the problem is?"
	"My mission is to kill Lahndo. I have failed my Master before... I
shall not fail again." Omega looked quizzically at Miguel, then placed his
hand on his forehead. Miguel collapsed into a heap.
	"Muscle control. That explains the wild look in his eyes...How would
you feel if you couldn't control your own body?" Omega said. "Good thing I can
absorb magical energy... But who could control him like that?"
	Suddenly, the normally dark, grey, dismal sky of Zozo became
considerably darker. Lightning streaked across the sky. A dark form
materialized in the air near Miguel.
	"Very good," said the wraith. "I will deal with you, once I have
disposed of him." The wraith turned to face Lahndo. "You, Mortal. You have
caused us much distress. Now I have come to do away with you, once and for
all. You will pay for the trouble you have caused us." With that, the wraith
launched a wave of frigid darkness at Lahndo.
	While the wraith had been giving his monologue, Lahndo had been
receiving instructions from the Metatron.
	"This one is stronger than the others. He has intelligence of his own,
and powers beyond those of his fellows. You will have to remove the source of
his power before you can destroy him. It shifts as the evil matter that makes
up his body does. You must cut it out of him, and then exorcise him. His name
is Kebranyth. This battle will not be easy. You will have to work harder than
you ever have before. Good luck, Lahndo."
	Lahndo dodged the wave of darkness by a hair's breadth. He pulled the
sword cuffs from his pack and clamped them on his wrists. He grabbed his
swords. "Let's see how you fight in the REAL world, creature of darkness!"
Lahndo shouted, as he felt the sword cuffs close tightly around the hilts of
his blades. "Prepare to meet YOUR doom!"
	"Foolish creature, you cannot ever hope to defeat me," The wraith
boomed. "You are for too weak, and I am far too strong... From the depth of
the prime evil which I can control, I call the GLOBE OF OBLIVION!!!" A sphere
of pure darkness enveloped Lahndo. There was no escape... except one
possibility.
	Lahndo lunged towards the wraith. "Creature of darkness, you do not
realize that I cannot be hurt by your pitiful evil. I have the God, Kefka on
my side!" Lahndo stood, and bowed his head in prayer. The eternal storm of
Zozo stopped for a moment, and the clouds parted. A shaft of pure, white light
came down from the heavens. A Light of Judgment. The light buzzed past the
buildings, passing through them, and causing no damage. The light struck the
globe, and it disappeared. "Praise be to Kefka," said Lahndo. "Now wraith,
prepare to be eradicated from the face of the earth."
	The wraith levitated up to the next floor of the rickety tower. Lahndo
stabbed his swords into the wall, using them to make handholds for climbing.
He reached the wraith, one floor higher than previously. Lahndo lunged at the
wraith, slashing. His swords passed through the wraith's outer "substance",
but clanged hard against an object hidden deep within. The wraith let out an
unearthly shriek, not of sound, but of emotion. It consisted of pain, fear,
loneliness, and desperation. Those who felt it knew what the world would be
like if the Master had his way, though few understood what it meant.
	The wraith retorted, sending an electrical shock coursing through
Lahndo's body. He was in incredible pain, unable to withdraw the sword from
the wraith's "body". Suddenly, the deadly wave ended. Lahndo realized that the
semi-solid object inside the wraith's body was the source of it's power.
Lahndo lunged again, slicing around the object, trying to separate it from the
wraith. The deadly wave of electricity flowed again, almost blacking Lahndo
out.
	"Fool," shouted the wraith, "you cannot affect me. I am invincible! No
sword can touch my body!"
	'No SWORD..." thought Lahndo, 'But what about something else?' Lahndo
prepared for a last-ditch attempt to stop the wraith's attacks.
	Lahndo leapt and slashed at the wraith. "You fool... Now you will
surely die!" shouted the wraith. But it was not to be, for Lahndo had released
his sword cuffs. The swords flew through the wraith, and embedded themselves
in the wall, and Lahndo caught hold of the dark sphere that made up the
wraith's central core. Electricity coursed through Lahndo's body, but he held
his grip.
	"Now, wraith," Lahndo growled through clenched teeth, "I have you in
my grasp. I command you with your true name! Kebranyth! Get ye gone from this
world and return no more!"
	Slowly, the encroaching darkness and thunderclouds withdrew, returning
Zozo to its normal drizzle. Lahndo trudged down the stairs to check on Omega
and Miguel. Omega was out cold. He had been hit by falling debris that broke
off the tower during the fight. Miguel was nowhere to be seen. The balcony had
given way, and he had fallen. Lahndo rushed down the stairs, searching for
Miguel's body, but didn't find it. It had been moved during the fight.
	Lahndo went and recovered his swords. He then attempted to hack a hole
in the wall of the tower. Unfortunately, his timing was off, and his swords
were dull as clubs. He recalled what Candace had said, and attached them to
his sword cuffs, and cut a hole right through the wall into an empty room. He
hefted Omega onto the bed, and went down to the corner to sleep himself. He
would look for Miguel in the morning.