“Oh, King Edgar...where are you?...I’m waiting for you...” The maid swayed her hips invitingly as she called out to Edgar.

He smiled at the angelic voice. “Alicia!” he cried out, excited. “I knew you would come to your senses sooner or later. You’ve finally realized that I’m the man for you!”

“Yes, your Majesty,” she said seductively. “And now I have come to make up for all the times I ever ignored you.” She held out her hands to him. “Please...come to me now...”

“Oh my love, I thought you’d never ask!” He took her in his arms, threw her on the bed and began to smother Alicia with kisses. But just as she began removing her already revealing dress, Edgar heard a loud noise. Annoyed, he lifted his head to yell for the noise to stop.

However, a thick smoke greeted his face. It was getting harder to breathe. The noise was also growing louder, and louder, until...

Edgar sat bolt upright in bed, his forehead gleaming with perspiration from his dream, sensing something amiss. The loud noise continued. He got up, dressed himself quickly, and stopped on the dais steps to listen more carefully.

There was a crackling, popping sound. “What the...” he muttered. He ran out to the main hall of the castle to investigate, and was stunned to see Figaro engulfed by flames!

“What’s happening?” he demanded, stopping the first guard he met.

“It’s the Empire! It’s Kefka!” the man exclaimed as he ran to join the effort that was trying to extinguish the fire. Shouts of “Fire!” could be heard from all directions as the people worked frantically to put out the flames.

Suddenly Kefka appeared before Edgar. “What are you doing?” the king shouted at him.

The general was tired of Edgar’s games and feigned innocence. “Bring me the girl! Now!” he ordered.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Edgar shot back.

“Then...welcome to my barbecue! Uwa, ha ha ha!”

Kefka’s soldiers were delighted with their work. “Fire! Fire! Heh, heh, heh!” they shouted gleefully as they watched the inhabitants scramble for water to douse the fire.

Unable to put Kefka off Terra’s trail, Edgar knew there was nothing else to be done. He walked quickly up to the anteroom, where a guard stood. “Get ready!” he told the man.

“Yes, sir!” the soldier replied and rushed into the anteroom.

Thinking Edgar would finally bow down to the inevitable and turn the girl over, Kefka followed the king. “Changed your mind?” he asked with a sneer.

Edgar slowly turned to him, a dejected look on his face. “I guess I have no choice...” he said, almost inaudibly. He closed his eyes for a moment.

Suddenly, he ran to the left and jumped on the parapet. With a sharp whistle, three chocobos dashed up and stopped directly beneath him. He jumped down, landing neatly on one animal, and shouted up at Kefka, “Or maybe I do!”

The general simply laughed. “Ackk! Shameful that a king should flee, leaving his people behind!” He cackled. “Edgar, you’re as evil as I am! How utterly delightful!”

The three chocobos rushed around to the opposite side of the castle, with Kefka following their path from his vantage point. “Jump!” Edgar called out, and Kefka was shocked to see Locke and Terra leap from a hidden tower onto the remaining two chocobos!

They ran to the front of castle. Edgar shouted, “OK! Dive now!!” just as Kefka appeared on the front steps.

“Yahoooo!” Locke shouted exultantly as they rode off.

Kefka wondered what Edgar had meant by “dive.” He soon found out when he heard a loud rumbling, and the castle begain to shake violently. The front doors through which he had just come banged shut, causing him to jump in alarm. “What’s going on?” he shouted, grabbing on to the door handle to steady himself.

“Figaro Submerge Mode engaged!” a guard announced. The castle towers were dragged in, leaving wide tracks in the sand. The peripheral turrets had already submerged, and the rumbling grew louder as the castle compacted.

The Chancellor stood on the main tower. “No one can touch the people of Figaro!” he cried. As the castle sank lower into the desert, guards rushed inside and closed up all the staircases leading to the outside so that no sand could enter. Soon the Chancellor disappeared into the castle as well, and the last staircase was sealed. Sand streamed into the hole left by the castle, and the tracks of the moving towers were quickly erased by the wind, leaving no trace of Figaro Castle.

As for Kefka, he had been busy trying to keep his balance when the castle began its descent. He felt the castle sinking and pulled at the front doors, only to find they had been locked. He finally threw himself onto the sand just as Figaro vanished from sight.

Kefka lay on the sand for a few moments, stunned. When the trembling ceased, he got up, shook the grit out of his hair and screamed, “Go!! GET THEM!”

Beavis and Butt-head, now in Magitek armor they had left some distance from the castle in case they would need them, rushed into the desert. Although the heavy armor made them sink into the sands quite a bit, they swiftly overtook the fleeing chocobos, catching them in a back attack!

The three, although surprised, were quick to take up their battle positions, with Edgar at the head and both men protecting Terra. Luckily, Edgar had come armed with his autocrossbow, and he began the attack by firing two arrows at each Imperial soldier in rapid succession. But the soldiers had the advantage, and they assaulted Locke with a Teklaser blast and a powerful Metal Kick before he was able to react.

Unable to stand much of the deadly assault, Locke fell to his knees. For the second time he felt he would fail to keep his word...But he was must survive, to help keep Terra safe...But despite his determination, his strength was rapidly declining.

Terra, alarmed at seeing Locke suddenly fall beside her, felt a intense feeling surge through her. Without thinking, she chanted the spell of Cure. A faint green glow surrounded both her and Locke as the magic took effect.

Thinking the glow was another Teklaser headed his way, and too weak to avoid it or defend himself, Locke closed his eyes and awaited the end. But he was amazed to find that, instead of finishing him off, it revitalized him! Edgar, who had stepped in front of Locke to protect him, was surprised as well. The two men looked at each other, then looked at Terra.

They glanced at her just in time to see the strange shimmer fade away, and Locke realized it must have been Terra who had somehow saved him. Noticing their stares, and rather ashamed at her show of power, Terra turned away.

It was Edgar who finally put two and two together, and that realization made him jump forward in shock. He could feel his hair standing on end, and his eyes were wide.

Locke wondered what had come over Edgar. The Magitek soldiers, too, seemed frozen with awe, and the battle was forgotten for the moment. “Edgar, what’s the matter? You look positively spooked!” he exclaimed.

Edgar swiveled around to face him, gesturing wildly. “Ddddddid you just see what I saw...?” he stuttered out.

Still not quite understanding, Locke looked at Terra, then turned back to his friend. “Yeah...this kid seems loaded for bear,” he said.

“She’s amazing!” Edgar breathed. “That was magic! M...A...G...I...C!” he exclaimed, emphasizing each letter.

Finally Locke understood what the big deal was, and his hair stood on end in a similar fashion as Edgar’s. He jumped up and down and shouted, “M...M...MAGIC?! She used magic?” Edgar nodded, and the men looked at each other significantly. They looked at Terra, who was still turned away, and went off a short distance.

They whispered with their heads close together, and all Terra could hear was “Pswswswsw! Pswswswsw!” She wrung her hands and prayed they woudn’t think anything of it...

The men turned to her after some moments. “Terra,” Edgar said, “where on earth did you learn that?”

She slowly walked away from them, her eyes closed, as they watched her. “Sorry...I...um...” She was at a loss for words. What could she say to vindicate herself? Now they knew she used magic and would probably go against her as well. Although she did not remember ever creating the monsters that now ravaged the land, she also knew the Slave Crown had erased her memory, and they might hold her responsible.

Locke, a little angry at Edgar for his lack of sensitivity, pushed him aside and came up behind Terra. “Look, I didn’t mean to make such a big deal of this...” he began.

Edgar, who had lost his balance and fallen, recovered himself and came to stand in front of the woman. “Me either,” he said apologetically. “It’s just that I’ve never actually SEEN magic before! Where did you...?”

“Edgar, Terra can use magic, and we can’t,” Locke cut in, coming to her rescue. Terra, however, was still flustered and kept her eyes shut. “That’s the only difference between us. The fact is...we could use her help!” Edgar, about to say more, was silenced by the look Locke gave him.

Comforted by Locke’s words, Terra opened her eyes. “Thank you, Locke!” she said gratefully. “Thank you, Edgar!” She smiled and returned to her fighting position, then turned back and winked at them.

The men looked at each other and felt their knees buckling. Their legs and strength seemed to give out. Before they knew it, the sand was in their faces.

Terra shook her head at this display. “Stop swooning!” she reprimanded them. Her sharp voice brought them back to reality, and they jumped back into the fight.

The battle did not last much longer. Terra took up a defensive position and was able to avoid the Metal Kick the soldiers directed at her. Locke, revived because of the sorceress’ magic, shielded Terra. Edgar shot another barrage of arrows at the Magitek soldiers, finishing them off.

“Bravo Figaro!!” Edgar shouted exuberantly as the battle ended. Locke stooped to gather the two Potions the soldiers had left behind, and the mounted their chocobos.

They rode off across the desert, leaving Kefka jumping up and down in frustration at the loss of the battle, his two soldiers, Figaro, and Terra. “Son of a submariner!” he swore. “They’ll pay for this!”

Locke was in high spirits. “This is great!” he shouted, the wind whipping his hair and bandana, giving him such a rush of freedom. His near-brush with death had made him realize how precious life was...yet also how easily it could be taken away... But before his mind could turn to darker thoughts, Terra spoke.

“Was that a bad person?” she asked hesitantly, thinking back to how Edgar and Locke had carefully protected her from Kefka’s discovery. She remembered the feelings that had surged through her as she had looked down from the tower. “I...I’m scared...”

Edgar slowed down to ride beside her. “Terra, there’s someone I’d like you to meet!”

Locke dropped back to enter conversation as well. “We’re members of the Returners,” he began.

“Our mentor, Banon, would certainly like to meet you,” Edgar continued.

“ ‘Magic’ is going to be the key to winning this war,” Locke said. “With your help, we just may be able to pull it off!”

“Magic...” Terra repeated softly, still experiencing some embarrassment as she recalled her show of magic during the battle against the Magitek soldiers. She bowed her head so no one would see the flush that was slowly coming over her face.

But Edgar was deep in thought. “Terra has magical powers. That Esper seemed to...react to her,” he reflected, thinking back to what Locke had told him. “Can there be some connection?”

The woman shook her head. “I haven’t the foggiest! It just seems natural to me that I have the use of this power.”

“But no HUMAN is born with the powers you seem to have, and...” Edgar fell silent, realizing what he had just said.

The implication of Edgar’s words was not lost on Terra. Could she not be human? If so, then what was she? Although she was finally getting an inkling of how she came into existence, it troubled rather than soothed her. Her grip on the chocobo’s reins slackened, and she slowed down, eventually coming to a stop.

Edgar came quickly back around, distraught. “I apologize,” he said gently.

His apology, though comforting, did not abate her unease. She had finally seen for herself how powerful her magic could be, and feared that it might be used for an evil cause. If the Empire had been able to control her so easily and use her magic for their own purposes, what would stop them from doing it again? Only the small band of Returners stood between Terra and the Empire’s recapture of her. “What should I do?” she finally asked.

Edgar didn’t beat around the bush, nor did he try to hide the magnitude of the consequences. “I’m sure the Empire is going to come after you,” he replied. “If they get their hands on you again, the world’s finished...”

Locke, whose chocobo was as spirited as he himself felt, finally was able to rein in the animal. He came up behind Terra. “I know this is all very sudden for you, and because of it, I think we’re going to need some help...more than Edgar or I can give you.” He saw the uncertainty written on her face. “Terra, you want to understand your own powers, right?”

She nodded, and Edgar came in front of her. “Then I think we need to consult with Banon.”

She made no reply. “Please...” Locke said in a low voice, almost pleading.

It had been only a few days since she’d been freed from the Empire’s control, but Terra felt as if she had already lived several lifetimes. There seemed to be no end to the questions, no answers she could find. She didn’t know whether to hate her magic abilities or be grateful for them, for they were what had gotten her into this entire thing in the first place. If she had been normal, then none of this would have ever happened...But the fact remained that she wasn’t normal. Maybe, if she knew how she came into being, it might be a source of peace for her...But each time she got closer to discovering her origins, the more it hurt.

She didn’t even know why the Empire wanted her back. What she did know was that the Empire was trying its hardest to regain control of her. Had she been used for evil? She shuddered at the thought. A gentle person, Terra was horrified to think of the frightful purposes her magic had been used for...

However, the two men were right. Because she had been gifted with these powers, she was now the group’s hope in overthrowing the Empire. Also, the Returners would have more information about the Empire, and would most likely be able to tell her what had happened during the years she was a virtual slave of the Empire. Even if she did not fully comprehend her abilities, perhaps the Returners could help her understand. And maybe, in the course of learning about her powers, she could also discover more about her origins.

Slowly, Terra nodded her assent. “All right,” she whispered.

“I’ll go.” The other two were overjoyed. “Okay!” Edgar exclaimed. “To the south there’s a cave that leads to South Figaro. We’ll stop at the town, then go on to the Returners’ hideout.”

The three headed south, the desert whizzing past as the chocobos ran and kicked up the sand, the only sound being the patter of the birds’ feet. They urged their mounts on and encountered no monsters, which they were able to outrun on the speedy chocobos. At the cave entrance, they jumped off the birds, who squawked and ran back to their home pen.

A Figaro guard blocked the way into the cave, with his chocobo tethered nearby. “King Edgar!” the man exclaimed in surprise. “Where are you headed?”

“Through the cave, and eastward to South Figaro,” the king replied. “Return to the castle, and tell the others we’re safe.”

“Yes, sir! Take care!” The guard untied his chocobo, hopped on the bird, and rode off.

Edgar turned to the other two. “This cave is dangerous if traveling alone,” he said. “Merchants usually travel through here in heavily guarded caravans. We’ll have to be careful.” He looked through the assortment of weapons that Locke and Terra had collected so far. “Hmm...a mithril pike,” he said, picking up the weapon and slowly swinging it around to get a feel of it. He had a wide grin on his face. “I can use this.” He traded his mithril blade for the pike, giving the blade to Locke.

He passed the weapon to Terra. “You’ll be needing this more than I will,” he said with a smile, and she understood why. She switched from her knife to the blade, slashing with it a few times to get used to its heavier weight. Armed and ready, they entered the cave.

A pool of water lay just inside the entrance. A turtle swam just out of reach, and it looked very healthy. Terra recognized the glowing water as a recovery spring. They drank deeply, preparing themselves for whatever monsters were within.

Their first battle came when three Crawlies attacked, ugly, brown worms. The party tried to avoid them at first, walking softly so they couldn’t be heard. Unfortunately, the Crawlies had exceptional hearing, and they squealed as they quickly discovered and surrounded the three. One immediately attacked, its wrinkled body rippling as its snout shot out at Terra. The Crawlie’s open maws were ringed with sharp teeth.

It was quite daunting at first, but the three kept calm. Locke was able to sneak past and lift a Tonic from each creature, while Terra was forced to defend the first attack. Edgar made short work of them with his powerful autocrossbow, ending the fight.

Hairy Blearies, who had only one red eye that could not see very well, were no problem for them, but Hornets were more difficult. Flying creatures with large stingers, they swooped down in a surprise attack and hit Terra with painful IronNeedles. She was stunned by the bombardment of needles, and Locke tended to her while Edgar fended off the creatures.

They made their way through different parts of the cave without much more difficulty. At last they saw a door with daylight streaming through it. After their eyes accustomed to the light, they traveled on eastward to South Figaro.