McArthur rushed into the throne room of Doma with a report of the battle.
Akfek was eager to know about the status of his troops and how they had
performed in the battle, but the look on his general's face was far from a
positive one.

"Your Majesty, our troops have suffered heavy losses in Thamasa."

Upon hearing this, Akfek's face grew bitter and he stood up and strolled
from side to side.

"The attack was proceeding as planned and we were about to penetrate the
town's defenses, but reinforcements arrived, possibly from the Returners.
Although the reinforcements were few, their strength was overwhelming, and
our forces cannot hold out in the battle much longer."

After hearing this, Akfek lunged into a rage and violently grabbed his
general's neck.  He yelled into McArthur's face, "Do I have to hear this
every time?" and then flung the general onto the ground.

McArthur, petrified at Akfek's anger, staggered back up with his knees
trembling.

"Well, go on," demanded the short-tempered emperor.

Recouperating, the general continued, "Our ground forces cannot endure this
battle much longer.  I suggest we send reinforcements or withdraw our
troops immediately."

Their conversation was interrupted when a sentry entered, followed by two
soldiers dragging a chained prisoner on his knees.  "Your Majesty, we have
apprehended this spy.  His name is Valron and we caught him attempting to
hand critical information to a Returner.  Unfortunately, we were unable
to capture the Returner."

Akfek stared at the helpless man and noticed the cuts and wounds that
covered the prisoner's body.  "And what information have you retrieved
from him?"

"He has confessed to the location of the Returner's headquarters. It
seems as if the Returner's base is located in Jidoor - intelligence was
able to verify this and have located the hidden base in Jidoor," the
sentry answered.

"So, the weasels are hiding in Jidoor."  Akfek sat down again and
continued, "You may leave now, sentry.  Continue your work with the
prisoner and when you have squeezed every ounce of information from him,
execute him."  The sentry departed the room, and the two soldiers hauled
the prisoner away.

Akfek resumed his conversation with his General. "McArthur, withdraw our
troops from Thamasa then.  Be sure Lady DelAubre is protected as our
forces withdraw.  We will leave Lore in Thamasa to deal with those rebels."

"Your Majesty, I suggest we retake Kohlingen at this time.  With General
Celes and her companions preoccupied with Lore, it would be very easy for
our forces to retake Kohlingen."

Akfek considered his General's advice and agreed that Kohlingen could be
taken easily.  "Yes, that is a good idea.  Go ahead and make the necessary
preparations to invade Kohlingen."

The General exited the room, and as he left, Cid walked in, escorted by a
trooper.

"What brings you here to Doma again, Cid?" inquired Akfek.

Cid, dressed in his usual oversized yellow coat, responded, "Oh, I just
built a little invention in Vector and I'd like to show you."

"Really?  Then let's go to Vector so I can see this little invention of
yours."

		*		*		*

Cid peered at Doma which shrank in size as the airship climbed higher and
higher.   For some unexplained reason, he felt loyal towards Akfek.  It
was like he was being forced to be loyal to Akfek but he couldn't explain
why.  He could barely recollect Akfek's history, but he could still recall
a portion of it...

___________________________________________________________________________

"Cid, how is your work on the Magitek Knights?"

"Very good.  I've managed to duplicate Kefka's genes, and now Kefka has a
brother.  This time, I think things will go a lot better."

Emperor Gestahl examined the newest addition to his Magitek Knights.  "Did
anything go wrong like it did last time with Kefka?"


"Everything proceeded as planned.  In fact, because everything went right
compared to the last time with Kefka, I've named him 'Akfek,' the reverse
spelling of Kekfa.  Hopefully, he'll also be the reverse of what happend
to Kefka.  I've also been able to normalize his skin color too.  I haven't
infused him with Magitek power yet but I will after I run a few more
tests."

"So, have you made him strong too?"  Gestahl waited impatiently for Cid to
answer.

"Well... no, I didn't.  He would be very weak without magic, but with
magic, he would be a very strong asset."

"I don't want a weak fighter.  I want somebody who can fight with a sword
and who can use magic simultaneously.  Don't bother to infuse him with
Magitek power.  This Akfek of yours is useless to me.  Perhaps, I'll make
him an ordinary soldier..."

___________________________________________________________________________

The airship arrived and landed on a cliff above the Imperial capital.
Akfek and Cid were led down a tunnel until they reached the mighty
fortress.  Two soldiers stood outside the main door of Vector and saluted
Akfek as he walked in with Cid.  Inside, the two headed for the production
line where Cid's invention was waiting.

"I hope you like it," said Cid.  "These two are modified versions of the
old 'Guardian.'  I call them Guardian 1 and 2.  I've enhanced their weapon
capabilities and their armor as well. Number 2 is stronger than number 1
but both are much more efficient than the old 'Guardian.'"

Akfek, amazed at Cid's invention, commended the scientist.  "Excellent
job, Cid.  I could use these two on those rebels later."  Cid smiled and
blushed at the praise given to his work.  "Cid, continue with your work.
If you need to test your new invention on somebody, feel free to grab any
soldier here to test it on.  I have some business to attend right now."

		*		*		*

Akfek opened the door to what used to be his brother's room.  He glanced
around the room and saw a half-opened closet with a green cape hanging
inside.  Akfek opened the rest of the closet and observed some red pants
and a pair of red shoes lying inside the closet.  The cape, pants, shoes,
and the rest of the clothes in the closet once belonged to his brother.

Akfek looked at himself in the mirror and wondered what he would look
like with his brother's clothes on.  So, he removed his clothing and wore
what was left of his brother's clothes instead.  At the top of the closet
was a whitish cap with a feather sticking out the side.  He snatched the
hat, brushed away the dust that had settled on top of it and glanced at
the mirror again. "A perfect fit," he thought as he gazed at the image
of himself in the mirror.