Chapter 11: To Be or Not To Be... --------------------------------- A deep, solemn whistle echoed into the cavern. As it subsided, the sounds of machinery, pistons, and screeching metal took over. And soon, even that died down. "All aboard!" The conductor peered across the empty station. He leafed through some papers, checked his watch, and gave the station another look. "Hmph... The Phantom Train is never late," he said to himself. He took down a lantern and stepped onto the platform. The locomotive shot out a jet of steam exhaust and idled impatiently. "OK, OK," said the conductor. He walked purposefully passed the waiting area, into the darkness beyond. * * * * "I guess this is it." He drew down the lantern's small flame. Although the chamber was far from being well-lit, the conductor could still make out the two most prominent features: a small, radiant spillage of sand and a Moogle lying next to it. He tickled the Moogle's feet. "Kupo!... Kupoppo?" The Moogle sat straight up, yanking in his feet. "What gives... kupo?" "Up and at 'em, Mog." The conductor shuffled some pages. "You don't want to be late." "Kupo? Mog?" The conductor eyed the Moogle. "You *are* Mog, aren't you?" he asked suspiciously. The Moogle looked around the room. There was no one behind him. "Kupo, where am I?" The conductor hesitated, then shrugged. "Close enough. You're Mog," he declared. Mog blinked. "Kupoppo?" The train conductor lifted out an official looking document and began writing. "Name: Mog..." His eyes darted to where the Moogle still sat but quickly returned to his overflow of paperwork. "...desert... er, cave... Maranda... cause of death: Sands of..." He finished writing and picked up his lantern. "Let's go, Mog. You don't want to be late." Mog got to his feet. "Kupo? Am I late?" He looked a bit worried. The conductor was growing exasperated. "The Train. I am the Impresario. You are Mog. The Phantom Train is never late... you don't want to get left behind." "Kupoppo..." Mog patted himself unsuredly. "I don't have a ticket." "You don't need a ticket....you're dead." The conductor held out a hand for Mog. Mog stumbled backwards defensively. "Kupo! Kupo... po! I'm not dead!" "Of course you are... that's you over there." "Kupo." Mog looked longingly at the sparkling yellow sands. "No, no!" cried the conductor. "Those are the Sands of Time. A word of advice -- though it can't help you now -- don't touch!" He turned Mog bodily. "That," he pointed, "is what remains of your corporeal self." Mog faced a dull and dirty heap of dust. He felt like sneezing. "Kupo, am I really dead?" * * * * "Mog... my name is Mog... I'm Mog... Mog..." "Prithee, whatcha doing?" "KUPO!" Mog jumped ten feet out of his seat. He blanched noticeably. "Kupo! Don't do that!" He hadn't seen the boy sneaking up on him. Mog climbed nervously off the table and sat down. The rumbling of the Phantom Train was disquieting. The kid stepped before Mog and executed an extravagant 14-point bow. "I am Owain Garamonde, son of Cyan Garamonde and faithful retainer to Doma." Owain hopped up onto the seat next to Mog. "Cyan... Doma... kupo... I remember now. The Phantom Train; it was like... like a dream, kupoppo." Mog looked at Owain. "Kupo! You're Cyan's... you're... what're you doing here?" "I'm dead." Owain hopped onto the table and spun around so Mog could see. He continued, "Kefka poisoned the people of Doma, but he couldn't poison their spirits!" "But... kupo, I thought the Phantom Train was never late." Owain dropped to the floor and pressed up close to Mog. "Shhhh!" He pulled on one of Mog's ears and whispered, "Don't tell the train conductor, but I'm a stowaway!" "Kupoppo?" Owain tugged Mog out of his chair. "Come on, Mog. Trains are cool!" * * * * Death stared blankly at the form 258AZ. It was missing almost every critical piece of information: date and place of birth; date, place, and cause of death; next of kin, living or deceased; etc. Death perused the top of the application: name... Mog. He looked at the Moogle who fidgeted uneasily. "Certification of Death denied." Death affixed his signature and filed the 258AZ. "You'll need a 258AZ3b, window 5." Mog got hold of the proper forms. He noted it had only one blank space, which he carefully filled in: M-O-G. Death signed the 258AZ3b and placed it in an out-pile. "Look into the crystal orb, Mog. I will restore your memories..." * * * * Mog had never been dead before, but Owain seemed eager to show Mog all the sights. So for the better part of his after-life, Mog commuted back and forth on the Phantom Train. "That was fun, Mog. I wish they had Moogles back in Doma." "Well, you kupo could've behaved better." Mog and Owain were returning from a visit to Duncan's house. The Phantom Train didn't often make trips there, so it involved a lot of scheduling. "I thinkupo you scared Duncan half to death." "Aw, come on, Mog!" Owain leaned back against the Moogle. "What's the point in haunting Duncan if he doesn't scream once in a while?" "We *don't* haunt Duncan," Mog stated. "Duncan keeps those four graves nice and tidy, kupo. And those Moogles are very fond of him... no one's out to haunt Duncan, kupoppo." The train turned sharply, spilling Owain onto his feet. "Even the train is against me!" Owain was dismayed. "Oh, alright!" He buried his face in his hands and begged Mog for forgiveness. Mog saw right through him. "You can apologize by being kupo polite the next time we visit. No more dropping dishes, no more door-slamming, and no more howling at the moon, kupo... Duncan needs his sleep." Owain spun around gleefully. "You have my promise as a loyal knight of Doma." As the Phantom Train pulled into station, the train conductor rushed up the aisle. "You have an urgent meeting with Death, 9:40 sharp. Don't be late." Mog looked over at Owain and shrugged. It was 9:38 already. * * * * "Yes, Mog. Please close the door on your way in." Mog let the door silently close itself. He sat down and stared Death in the face. "You're a model spirit, Mog. You've set an example for all dead people to emulate. Here." Mog received a letter. He tore it open. "Kupo, I don't get it." "That's your termination notice. You can keep your status for two, maybe three weeks, but then it's all over." "I'm kupo confused." Mog scratched his head. "What gives?" Death pulled out the most recently updated listing of the dead and laid it before Mog. "You're not dead." * * * * "Alas, who died?" asked Owain. Mog shook his head and started walking. "I don't know. Death just kicked me off the list, kupo." Owain was stunned. He quickly caught up to Mog. He looked the Mog over up and down, then he poked the Moogle. "Hey, kupo careful!" "Sorry, Mog. Just checking," Owain apologized. "You look dead to me," he added. "Thankupo, Owain. I feel kupo better already." "So are you alive?" Mog thought Owain was going to poke him again. "Er... kupo." They passed through one of the city's stone walls. "Let's go see the Moogle Sages." * * * * "So where are we going to today, Mog? Are we visiting Duncan again?" he asked very innocently. "Not today." Mog stared hard at the picnic basket. "There's an air battle over Thamasa... and Terra has just kupo died." A low wail from the train was followed by its rapid deceleration. Mog helped Owain collect and put away their game. "We're here." Mog lifted Owain up off the train aisle. "Stay with your mom, Owain. I'll meet Terra and bring her backupo." The station platform was crowded. There were many soldiers wearing the insignia of the Empire; a hodgepodge of unaffiliated warriors which Mog assumed were Thamasan; and civilians, women and children who made up the bulk of the newly dead. The Phantom Train was going to be packed. Mog weaved his way through the crowd, hoping that Terra hadn't already boarded the train. At the far end of the platform, there were fewer souls, and Mog spotted Terra. He waved frantically to catch her attention. "Terra! Terra! Kupo!" "Mog!" Terra bent down and squeezed the Moogle. "Mog! I didn't even know you were in Thamasa. Did you just die?" "Kupo, no! I've been dead for a while now, kupo. I'm here to pickupo you up." "That's so sweet of you, Mog. We can both pickupo me up then." "Kupo, kupo?" Terra looked at Mog awkwardly. "Oh, Mog! I'm Terra's Esper half," she explained. "I've been dead for some time now. I heard my human half had also just died so I came here to be together again." "Oh, kupo!" Mog was astounded by his own perceptiveness. "That's why you're so pinkupo!" The train conductor broke through the crowd and interrupted them. "Bad news, spirits. Seems the Big Guy goofed. Terra Branford is no longer listed as dead. Seems she took a wallop and is out cold but recovering." The conductor checked his watch. "Remember, spirits... the Phantom Train is never late." "Kupoppo. And I was really looking forward to meeting Terra again!" "Well, thanks for making a girl feel welcome, Mog." Terra put on an air of being slighted. "Kupo! Kupoppo!" Terra laughed. "It's too late to try and sweet-talk your way out of this one. Let's go, Mog." Mog ran after the Esper. "Where're we going?" "To find myself. Maybe now that one of me is dead, I can be reunited in spirit." Outside the train station was the town of Thamasa. There were more airships in the sky than Mog thought possible. Terra's Esper instinctively led them aboard one of them. They immediately found Terra's body fallen on deck. She was still breathing. "Look out! Kupoppo!" An Imperial soldier crashed into the crates Mog and the Esper were standing on. The soldier's spirit looked up at them before jumping off the airship. "Don't worry, Mog. You can only die once; twice if you're half-human." "This is kupo dangerous." Mog took the dead soldier's sword and laid it by Terra's body. "Why, thank you, Mog." The Esper smiled. She examined herself. "Looks like I took a major pounding," she said. "I'm not sure how to do this." "Kupo, I'd like to talkupo with her... er, you," said Mog. "Is it kupo if I go first?" "OK, Mog." The Esper stepped back. "Go ahead, but I better not come out of this half-Moogle." Mog disappeared into Terra, and Terra's Esper half followed suit. Moments later, Mog came out alone. He kissed Terra on the cheek, closed her hand on the hilt of the sword, and raced towards the Phantom Train. * * * * The Moogle Sages had Mog stand on a burnt patch of ground. They formed a loose circle around the Moogle and began reciting poetry. A phalanx of Moogle Heroes looked on from a larger perimeter, their armors flashing through the heavy gloom. Mog blinked as he scanned the private gathering. When the Sages paused to prepare the next reading, Owain slipped through the circle. "We heard you were leaving... are you dead?" he asked. Mog was going to miss Owain. "Kupo good-bye, Owain." Owain hugged Mog tightly. "My mom asks a favor." he said. He proffered a letter to Mog. "It's a favor to me also." Mog turned the letter over: Cyan Garamonde, Doma Castle. "I'll be kupo sure he gets this. See ya, kid." "See ya, Mog."