Siegfried Alorin woke refreshed. Another warm day in South Figaro. What a wonderful thing it was to live here, he thought. He got out of his bed and dressed. Mother was already preparing breakfast. Father was sharpening his sword. "Good morning son." said his father. Siegfried smiled and took his place at the table. "Ah Mother... cooking scrambled eggs again? My favorite.." said Siegfried. His mother winked at him, and scooped the scrambled eggs onto a plate and served it to him. "Mm.." said Siegfried as he took the first bite. "Outstanding Mother, as usual." said Siegfried with a grin. His mother smiled at him. Siegfried quickly finished his breakfast and went over to his father. "Father.. have you heard anything about the march of the Empire towards us?" asked Siegfried. "No son.. though rumor has it King Edgar was in town a little while ago along with two companions. He left just yesterday." said his father. Siegfried began to worry. When King Edgar visits and doesn't announce himself, it means that something's going on. Siegfried went out doing his daily chores, thinking of the world, the Empire. Siegfried wasn't a politician, but the worries of the world were worries of his. The sun began to set, lighting the sky with crimson fire. It was beautiful. "Time to head back." Siegfried said to himself after chopping the last piece of wood with a short axe. He heard a little marching nearby. Voices yelling, children crying.. There were booms and blasts in the direction of South Figaro. "It's happened..." said Siegfried, his voice breaking. He hurried home, dropping his axe and running like the wind. "Mother! FATHER!" he yelled as he came into the town. His house was in flames. "Nooo!" he cried out. The Magitek soldiers tried to blast him, but he ran into the burning house to escape them. He didn't see his mother anywhere! His father was lying on the ground near the fireplace, badly burned. "S...son...Sieg...fried... get... the sword... get it and... go... hurry... not much time..." mumbled his father. "No, father! I won't leave you!" "GO!" yelled his father in a commanding voice. Siegfried grabbed the sword and ran. He scaled the wall around the city and dashed into the wilderness. He felt like a coward leaving his father like that, but... he hadn't any choice. He heard the tromping of a Magitek troop behind him. There were two sets of the hulking armor. Siegfried drew his family sword, "Alos", the Black Blade. It was made of pure black onyx. He ran at one set of armor, charging at it with a rage. He raised Alos and slashed into the left arm of the armor. There was a little electric discharge as wiring came loose. "Imperial bastards!" he yelled. He cut into the soldier's armor. The other tried to hit him with a Fire Beam. It discharged out of the powerful cannons located on the front of the armor. Siegfried tried to get out of the way, but his right side was slightly burnt as he jumped to the left. The main part of the Fire Beam slammed right into the wounded soldier Siegfried had been working on. The armor's front piece dissolved and the soldier was trapped in the immovable, melted armor. Siegfried took a chance and rushed at the second soldier. The soldier noticed and Siegfried was hit by a Bolt Beam. "No... I won't give in... this is for father... and mother..." he said. Siegfried got up, and swung his sword incredibly fast. He put his own life energy, his own soul into that sword, and yelled, "Take this! HYPERDRIVE!" He released the bolt of energy at the soldier and it exploded on contact. The soldier was a burnt skeleton by the time the shock had subsided. "M...m..." he mumbled. Siegfried fell to his knees, then collapsed. The immense drain on his body and mind generated by HyperDrive was too much He needed to get somewhere to sleep, fast. He trudged on slowly through the forest. He finally fell unconscious... He awoke the next day to a storm. It was quite a storm too. He headed out on his long journey as far from South Figaro as possible... * * * were the first two words in Siegfried's mind. He awoke on the ground. THAT, at least, was a relief. He believed himself to be near Nikeah. He still had all of his equipment. He trudged on to Nikeah. The earth was... Siegfried struggled to find the right word... dead. It was a harsh word, but it was true. The plants had stopped growing, the earth was cracked and dry. * * * When Siegfried got to Nikeah, he sat in the coffee shop. A regal looking man stepped up to him. Siegfried turned his head and looked at the man with a sense of familiarity somehow... "Hello sir. My name is Gerad. I am looking for someone to help me with some work... I'll pay 50,000 gold pieces on successful completion." said Gerad. "Well.. I suppose so.. I could use the extra money." replied Siegfried. "Good. Meet me tomorrow morning at the port." said Gerad, tossing Siegfried a Figaran gold piece. Nikeah hadn't changed at all. It was a lonely ship ride there. There weren't too many ship hands to talk with, and those that were didn't talk much. It actually suited Siegfried well, he wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone anyway. They arrived in South Figaro in about 4 days. Siegfried then went about the town. He heard about a Coliseum on West Continent being built. It was almost finished. Siegfried was pained at the sight of his old hometown, but kept it inside. Gerad had a group of common thieves as his workmen. He was the leader of the "Crimson Robbers", as they were called. Siegfried ignored them, and stared into the deep seawater in the dock. It was time for the Crimson Robbers to leave town. They were headed for Figaro Castle. They apparently knew of a passage into the castle. Siegfried was distracted so much by the sight of his hometown he didn't notice Sabin Rene Figaro and General Celes herself step off the boat. They went through Cave of Figaro without a hitch. Siegfried easily killed the few monsters that attacked. One of the robbers fed a huge turtle drifting in the underground pond. The turtle moved across just long enough for Siegfried and the rest of the thieves to cross the pond. They entered Figaro Castle through a long passageway about a half mile across. Bits of sand fell from the ceiling. Siegfried heard footsteps behind him. He ducked behind a rock as he saw Sabin Figaro and General Celes walk across the cave, apparently not knowing they were being watched. He crept behind them and slid past in the shadows. He crept into Figaro Castle and hid away from the Crimson Robbers. He needed no business with them, and decided to ditch them, but followed them anyway. He crept through the passageways of Figaro Castle, well ahead of Celes and Sabin. He hid behind a piece of machinery as Gerad stayed in the engine room. There was a huge mass of tentacles covering the machinery. Gerad motioned for the Robbers to go get the treasure. Celes and Sabin walked in, as Siegfried watched from the shadows. Gerad spoke with them briefly. Siegfried overheard. "Come on Edgar!" said Celes. "Aren't you going to help me Celes!? C'mon!" said Gerad/Edgar. "Edgar... it IS you!" said Celes. Siegfried realized he had been tricked. Even though he liked the king, he felt betrayed, and wouldn't get his money either. He watched them fight the tentacles, killing them one by one. They were victorious, though they were weakened. They hid behind the machinery, letting the Crimson Robbers think that "Gerad" was dead. The Robbers left with their treasure. Edgar and the group talked. Siegfried sat quietly to avoid being discovered. They walked up and he felt a sudden lurch. The castle was moving. The machinery roared with a deafening noise. Siegfried snuck off and headed north to the Coliseum, hoping to earn a reputation and a profit, and to leave his past behind.