Chapter 6
Three solitary figures could be seen approaching Figaro
Castle from the south. One was dressed in a bold green cloak with a red tunic
underneath. He also wore a feather poked into his blonde hair right behind the
top-most part of his ear. There were two brown Imperial soldiers with him, one
walking on each side. The green-clad figure stooped down from boredom and
exhaustion.
"Phooey! Emperor Gestahl's stupid orders!" He jumped up and
shook his fists wildly in the air. The two soldiers looked quizzically at each
other. "Edgar, you pinhead! Why do you have to live in the middle of nowhere?
These recon jobs are the pits!" continued the green-clad man. Kefka shaded his
eyes, and declared, "Ahem... there's SAND on my boots!" The soldiers quickly ran
over to their chief. One of the soldiers brushed off the sand on his right boot,
saluted, and then the other soldier brushed off the other boot, and he, too,
saluted. They awknowledged together, "Yes Sir! All set, Sir!"
Kefka gave a curt nod, and laughed maniacally. "Idiots!" he
scolded the two men, and they continued on to the castle.
As the trio ascended the steps right outside the main
entryway, the door guard stepped in front of Kefka, "Sir Kefka!? What on earth
do..."
"Outta my way!" Kefka tossed him aside and entered the double
doors. He walked up through the center of the castle, and met King Edgar at the
outside walkway. Edgar walked over to the troop on Kefka's right. "You've been
busy down south! Looking for more cities to destroy?" The trooper retorted,
"That's for us to know!". King Edgar took two steps to his right, and told the
soldier on Kefka's left, "I thought we were allies! What are you doing in my
domain?" The soldier said nothing.
Edgar stepped once to his left and looked straight at Kefka.
"What brings Kefka, humble servant of Emperor Gestahl, into our lowly presence?"
Edgar asked politely.
"A girl of no importance recently escaped from us.We heard
she found refuge here." Edgar turned around and took a few slow steps. "Hmm...
This wouldn't have anything to do with this 'witch' everyone's been whispering
about, would it?"
Kefka's response was clearly masked with fake innocence.
"Lies! She... merely stole something of minor value. Is she here?"
Edgar turned and looked at Kefka's rightmost troop. "That's a
tough one!" He took a step closer to Kefka and stared right through his mask of
deceit, "You see, there're more girls in here than grains of sand out there. I
can't keep track of 'em all!"
"I'd hate to be you if we find out you're lying." Kefka let
out a short burst of an evil laugh, and added, "I truly hope nothing happens to
your precious Figaro...!" He turned and left, and the two guards followed him
out.
The king turned around, too, and headed for Locke, who was
waiting at the door. "I'd say that guy's missing a few buttons..."
Edgar had no time to discuss Kefka's sanity. "Where's Terra?"
Right on cue, Locke stepped to the side and Terra poked her head out into the
sunlight. The king led Locke down a few stairs, so that Terra might not hear.
"Take her to her room..." He turned around and walked up to Terra, "I'd love to
chat with you, but the Chancellor and I must plan our strategy. Sometimes I hate
being a king! If you'll excuse me." He walked around her and went back into the
door that Terra had come out of.
Locke approached her, "Follow me." She followed Locke out the
eastern door in the castle courtyard, through the library, down some stairs, out
onto the desert, into the eastern wing, and u a flight of stairs. He was waiting
beside the bed. She went up closer to him. "Don't you worry 'bout a thing! I'll
take care of everything." Locke walked over to the staircase. "On the surface,
Edgar pretends to support the Empire. The truth is, he's collaborating with the
Returners, an organization opposed to the Empire. I'm his contact with that
group." He looked over at Terra. "The old man you met in Narshe is one of us."
Terra thought this over for a second. "Empire... but I'm a
soldier of the Empire...!" She hung her head in shame.
Locke quickly replied, "That's not true! They were using you!
Things are different now."
Terra shook her head, "I don't understand... What should I
do?"
Locke walked up close to her. "I can't tell you what to do.
You don't have to decide right now. You'll soon find your way..." and with that,
he walked down the stairs and out of the room.
Terra lowered her head again, not out of shame, but out of
thought. "But how will I know which way is right..."
________________________
Zzzzzzzzzzz.... mmph... huh...? What is that smell...
smoke?!
Edgar jumped out of the bed in his royal bedchamber, and ran
over to the curtains, where the matron usually was. I just took a small nap...
where's the matron? He smelled smoke even stronger now. "What the...?" He ran
out of his room, and entered the castle courtyard. The vines which had grown on
the ground were on fire and the Figaroan royal banners were aflame, also, and
Edgar could see that great flames were leaping out through windows everywhere.
Presently, one of his loyal subject was running around trying to extinguish some
of the flames, to no avail. Edgar asked him, "What's happening?"
The soldier replied, "It's the Empire! It's Kefka!"
Go figure. Edgar heard booted feet approach; he turned
towards the door at the exact moment that Kefka walked through it. "What are you
doing?"
"Bring me the girl. Now!" Kefka commanded.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Edgar shot back.
"Then... welcome to my barbecue!" Kefka tossed his head back
and laughed maniacally.
OK, now for the hard part... Edgar lowered his head
submissively, turned around, and walked up the courtyard steps. His commander
was standing there. "Get ready!" the king commanded. "Yes, sir!" the soldier
whirled around and ran into the door.
Kefka approached Edgar from behind, "Changed your mind?"
Edgar looked to one side and answered, "I guess I have no choice..."
Without warning, Edgar ran to one side of the courtyard, gave
a shrill whistle, and jumped... right onto one of the three chocobos that had
answered his call. "Or maybe I do!"
As Edgar circled around to the other side of the courtyard,
Kefka yelled out, "Ackk! Shameful that a king should flee, leaving his people
behind! How utterly delightful!"
When Edgar had almost reached the other side if the
courtyard, he yelled, "Jump!" and as he did, Locke and Terra each jumped onto
one chocobo from the overhang above. The three chocobos and their riders ran
around to the front of the castle. Edgar yelled to his people, "OK! Dive now!"
Kefka was standing dumbfounded on the front steps. Locke ran his chocobo ahead a
few steps, "Yahoooo!" he yelled, and the three ran off into the desert.
Kefka still stood there. Then, the castle began to rumble
from the deep. The side wings were pulled in closer to the whole of the castle,
and the guards everywhere ducked inside wherever they could. Doors were bolted,
hatches were locked, and only Kefka and his two soldier didn't understand what
was happening. One of the Figaroan soldiers was heard to yell, "Figaro Submerge
Mode engaged!" just before he shut himself in the castle. The chancellor was
standing atop the highest castle tower, watching his king, the king's friend,
and the young fugitive woman escape across the desert. "No one can touch the
people of Figaro!" and he, too, entered the stairway and bolted the hatch. Then,
the entire castle submerged under the desert.
Kefka yelled to two waiting Magitek Armor soldiers, "Go! GET
THEM!" The two machines chased after the threesome galloping across the desert.
As they were running, Edgar turned to look behind them at the
soldiers on M-teks. He yelled to Locke, "You did bring it didn't you?" "Of
course!" was his reply. Locke passed a large machine-like object over to Edgar.
He took the machine in one hand, looked behind him, pointed back towards the
approaching soldiers, and let loose a fury of small, sharp objects. They found
their marks, and both soldiers slumped over in their seats. The M-tek armors
stopped dead. The machines apparently had an automatic shut-off mechanism for
just in case their riders died in the middle of a battle.
They were now galloping across the sand dunes, when Edgar
congradulated, "Bravo, Figaro!" They turned around and started heading the other
way, when they passed Kefka. He just watched them pass him.
"Son of a submariner! They'll pay for this..." the Imperial
screamed as he hopped up and down with rage.
They ran their chocobos across the white sand, Locke leading,
with Edgar and Terra about one pace behind him. "This is great!" Locke yelled
with excitement.
Terra innocently asked,"Was that a bad person? I... I'm
scared..."
Edgar rode his chocobo right up beside Terra. "Terra, there's
someone I'd like you to meet."
Locke pulled back a few paces and explained, "We're members
of the Returners."
"Our mentor, Banon, would certainly like to meet you. 'Magic'
is going to be the key to winning this war."
"Magic..." Terra repeated pensively.
Edgar continued, "Terra has magical powers. That Esper seemed
to... react to her. Can there be some connection?"
"I haven't the foggiest!" Terra now exclaimed confusedly. "It
just seems natural to me that I have the use of this power..."
Edgar stated, "But no human is born with the powers
you seem to have, and..."
With the thought of not being human, Terra gave a light pull
that slowly halted her chocobo. Edgar and Locke both circled around and ended up
right next to her. Edgar came close in on her left. "I apologize."
"What should I do...?" Terra questioned.
"I'm sure the Empire is going to come after you. If they get
their hands on you again, the world's finished. Terra, you want to understand
your own powers, right?" He wheeled his chocobo around so he could look straight
at her. "Then I think we need to consult Banon."
Terra was silent. Locke asked her, "Please..." She seemed to
silently agree.
Edgar took her silence this way and took a few steps away
from them, "OK! To the south there's a cave that leads to South Figaro."
They rode in silence for two hours. Terra noticed Edgar kept
flipping open a small device, rotating it slightly, then shutting it and shoving
it back into his tunic pocket. She made a mental note to ask him about the
devices he seemed to keep on hand all the time, such as the one he used to
iinstantly kill those soldiers, and the one he seemed to be using now, for what
reason she couldn't tell.
As they rounded a cliff on the left, they came to a small
cave, with a guard and his chocobo watching them.
"Here we are. This is the cave to South Figaro." Edgar
pointed to the cave.
