PRELIMINARIES: None of this belongs to me. Final Fantasy VI, and all worlds, characters, etc. associated with it, are the property of Square-Einx. Square-Enix is not associated in any way, shape, or form with the creation of this story (a fact for which, I suspect, they would be profoundly grateful). I have made liberal usage of their characters and settings in this story; this was done without their knowledge or permission, and is technically an infringement of Square-Enix's copyright. As this story is, at the most pragmatic level, free promotion of the Final Fantasy franchise, it is hoped that they will regard this story (if at all) with a benign ignorance.
If you paid a wooden nickel for this story, not only have you been drastically overcharged, but whoever charged you has done so illegally, and I disavow any association with said individual(s).
All feedback is welcome, up to and including line-by-line critiques (provided they fit in my mailbox).
Do not copy this story onto your own archive. In the first place, if you want to it probably means that you were high on something when you read it; in the second place, it's an "in-progress" work; in the third place, I have a vested interest in keeping a tight leash on its distribution. E-mail me if you simply must have this story, and I will in all likelihood prepare a copy for your own archive. Please do not anticipate my response and post a different copy before I get back to you.
It's still early, but it should be noted that this is one of the most important chapters in the entire story (which accounts for some of the massive delay this time around). It is also the single most experimental piece I've ever written (which accounts for the rest); your indulgence is craved should comprehension be difficult. Concepts and language bastardized in this chapter were stolen lock, stock, and barrel from at least half a dozen authors, philosophers and other personalities; apologies to all parties.
Twenty-one gun salutes go, as always, to my beta readers, Kami and Shack, whose valiant efforts at damage control saved the rest of you considerable grief.
Now, sit back and either enjoy the ride, or (more likely) enjoy thinking of what you'll do to me at the end of it...
You again?!
...
I thought I told you before--this can't be rushed! Or do you want it to look like Zozo?
I...I don't understand.
Of COURSE you don't understand! I'm not finished yet. So go on. Off with you, now--wake up!
...
...
...um...
What...why are you still here?
by
Wake up!
...
Wake up!
...
WAKE UP!
...
Wake...damn it! Why isn't this working?!
I don't understand.
Ugh...didn't we just go over this? Why won't you just wake up already and let me work in peace?
I'm...asleep?
YES, you're asleep. And at an unnatural hour, too--I wasn't expecting you for another...Oh.
Hm?
You got knocked out, didn't you?
Um...sort of. More like I passed out...
Passed out...oh no. Don't tell me you collapsed again! Shadow, I swear--there are times when I think you don't want me to finish this.
Whoa, back up. You seem to know me, but who are you?
That could be...awkward. I'm you...but at the same time, I'm not.
...Run that by me again?
You wouldn't recall this--I haven't gotten around to that quarter yet--but we once learned that there are two selves: the self that observes, and the self that is observed. Every person is made up of these two selves.
Huh?
Ugh. You'd think this would get easier after how many times I've...Well, to put it simply--I'm the observer, and you are the observed. Perceptions...memories...these are my domain.
Memories?!
Ah. Now you understand.
You're recovering my memories?
In a sense. That has to do with the training we received once.
Training?
Well. As long as you're stuck here, you may as well help me out. Come--I'll show you.
What is this?
I should be the one asking that question. Tell me, Shadow. What do you see?
I see a...city.
What's left of one, you mean.
Er...
No need to get flustered. You could hardly offend me--I'm you, remember? And yes, this was once a great city. I built it, stone by stone. It was our crowning acheivement.
I still don't understand.
You will. Come, follow me.
Where are we going?
Not far. Just down the road. Is there anything in particular you've been wondering about your past?
Well...my name.
Your name?
Yes. What kind of a name is Shadow, anyway?
Ah, yes. I recall you asking me that once before. You're in luck--here we are. Tell me, does this building look at all familiar?
No, it doesn't. I don't...I don't understand.
Can you remember how we got here?
Yes. Yes, I think so.
Good. Then open the door.
What's inside?
You'll see.
-FLASH-
"YES!"
"Shh!" I waved him down by reflex, but there was no real heat behind it. I had a huge smile on my face, and my laughter rippled through my lungs, barely suppressed.
What the...
Quiet. Watch.
Baram lowered his voice...a little, anway. "Can you believe this? A million gold pieces! I've never seen this much money in my life!"
"This is great! That's enough to set us both up for life!"
I don't understand.
What do you see?
I see a forest. I'm carrying something really heavy--wait a minute. I'M carrying something?!
Baram didn't answer. I glanced over, and realized he'd stopped some ten paces back. "Baram?"
This is a memory!
Yes, this is a memory.
This is incredible! I--
Shadow.
Hmm?
Shut up. Listen, and learn.
"I don't want to stop."
I smiled. Same old Baram. Eyes fixed on the stars to the very end, even now that... "You what?"
"I don't want to give this up." Baram dropped his sack at his feet. It made a satisfying clink as it landed. "We've just hit our stride--do you really mean to tell me you didn't enjoy that?"
I felt a smile tug at my face.
"You see? You don't want to quit either!"
"That's not the point, Baram." I dropped my own sack next to his.
Oh, my aching back...
Out of shape, were you?
Just a little. How heavy is that thing, anyway?
How much do you think half a million gold pieces would weigh?
"We both agreed that once we made a hundred thousand gold pieces, we'd split. We've got ten times that right here!" I grabbed his shoulders. "Yes, I enjoyed it when it went well. But I remember what happened when it didn't!"
He calmly took hold of my wrists and removed my hands from his shoulders. "We're still alive, aren't we?"
"We're still...I can't believe I'm standing here having this conversation! I don't know about you, Baram, but I'm taking my share of the money and retiring to Jidoor, like we always said we would--remember?"
Baram shook his head. "You really don't get it, do you? Jidoor's the first place Doma will look!"
"Figaro, then, or Narshe. Hell, maybe I'll get on a boat and move to Maranda!"
The air is pretty muggy for how we're dressed. Was this during the summer, or...?
An autumn hot spell, I believe.
Are all my memories this...this vivid?
Yes. You get used to it after a while. Now pay attention.
I am.
To the conversation.
"You do know what they'll do if they ever catch us, don't you?"
"Yeah. The Four Chocobos." I shuddered; there were far better ways to die. "That's why we agreed to get out now, before they got serious. What's your point?"
"My point is that it's already too late." He nudged the bags with one foot. "We've hit them hard enough that they'll never stop hunting. It doesn't matter how far we run, or how long it takes. They will find us."
My blood ran cold. "So what are you suggesting?"
He smiled. "We give them someone else to chase."
"I don't follow."
I'm not the only one.
Hush.
"We've learned quite a bit about the Phantom Forest, haven't we?" Baram gestured at the trees around us. "I say we take what we've learned, and start a gang."
"A gang?" I winced. I'd seen plenty of gangs back in my Zozo days, and had been...less than impressed, as had Baram. We decided early on that almost anything ten people could do, two could do in half the time--with a fifth of the fuss. "How many people are we talking about, here?"
"As many as we can get! We'll use the prestige from this last job as a springboard to recruit. The gang gets the reputation--and eventually, we retire, while Doma keeps chasing our successors." Baram was really getting into this, now. "We can build our own base here. No one will ever find it! Weapons, armor, food...we can stockpile everything a train robber would ever need."
TRAIN ROBBER?!
I frowned. "You mean we use this money as capital."
"Exactly. We buy weapons, uniforms--masks. Pretty soon, the gang will be doing so much damage, Doma will forget all about us."
"And when we leave, they'll never know the difference." I pictured myself sitting at the opera house south of Jidoor. It was an attractive picture. "I like it."
He nodded. "All we need now is a name."
"It should be something to strike fear into their hearts." I rubbed my chin. "Let's see. We strike fast, without mercy and without warning. They'll never know where we'll be coming from...they'll never see us until it's too late."
"And afterward, we just melt back into the..." Baram clapped his hands. "That's it! Shadow!"
I blinked. "The great train robbers of the century: Shadow." It was as if something clicked in my mind; the name felt...right, as nothing had for a very long time.
Baram must have read my expression. He smiled. "Shadow it is?"
I returned a smile of my own. "Shadow it is."
-FLASH-
...
Shadow?
I...I can't believe it. I was a train robber?
For a time.
For a time? What happened?
I'm still not sure. In your later memories, the gang is gone. You're all that's left, and "Shadow" has become your name. Do you understand now, though? What I'm doing here?
I...I think so. These buildings...they're all memories, aren't they?
A city of memories. Everything you ever knew, everything you ever learned--it was all mapped, laid out, organized. When you were trapped in Kefka's tower...well, you can see what happened.
It looks like an earthquake hit.
That's one way to put it. I've been doing my best to rebuild, but there's still a long way to go.
I don't understand.
Look to the center, Shadow. What do you see?
The center? I see--
Those are the outskirts.
...oh. Um...What the hell?!
What do you see, Shadow?
I...they look like towers, but...
But what?
They feel...those things shouldn't be there.
You're right.
What?
They shouldn't be there. But they are.
What are they?
I don't know. Every time I get close, they repel me--violently.
Couldn't you just avoid them?
There are some very important buildings in the center of this city, Shadow. What's more...those things offend me.
Offend you?
I am the master of this city. I built every building and paved every street; I know them all by heart. I had never seen those things before Kefka's tower, and I want to know why. That's where you come in.
Huh?
I didn't build those towers, and I think that's why they rejected me. They wouldn't necessarily reject you, though, and that should help me get through.
...I don't understand.
What did you do just now, Shadow?
When I entered the building?
Yes.
I experienced that memory, didn't I? I...I...
Go on.
If those towers are buildings here, then they have to be memories, and...oh no.
Now you understand.
We're both there when you're recovering these memories, aren't we?
You experience. I observe. And then, I rebuild.
...All these memories?
Don't worry. It's only the ones that were destroyed that have to be rebuilt from scratch. There's enough left of you in the others that I can repair them without you, but those...
...This city. It was built from the center out, wasn't it? That's why the towers are so important.
If we don't get those towers taken care of, you'll never get your most important memories back. And I can't get close enough to take care of them without being thrown back. That's why you have to climb them. Come.
...
Is something wrong?
I'm...I've done this before?
That's right.
Is...is it all right if we do another memory before the towers? One you haven't reclaimed yet?
...?
Just so I can get a feel for what we're doing.
...All right. There's one on our way that should help you get your feet wet.
Thank you.
Don't thank me yet.
-FLASH-
"I'm the product of a human and an Esper." I paused at the voice, holding the door a second before it could close. "Will I ever be able to love someone?"
What's going on? I don't understand.
Calm yourself, Shadow, and tell me what you see.
What I see? It's dark--the stars are out. I can see water...I'm on a boat!
Good. What else?
I eased the door shut, then turned toward the prow.
TERRA?!
Two people leaned side-by-side against the railing, staring out into the sea. One, somewhat to my surprise, was General Leo; the other was the Esper girl, Terra.
Esper?
I've never heard the term before.
As I watched, Leo laughed. "Of course!"
Terra drooped at his laughter, and my breath caught in my throat. The way the moonlight caught her hair--she looked like--I ruthlessly clamped down on the thought. "But...I haven't felt that way yet..."
"You're just young." Leo shook his head. "But...I understand how you feel." Terra looked back at him, and his voice softened. "I understand only too well."
He placed a hand on her shoulder, and the two stared at one another for a heartbeat. Then Leo turned away and strode across the deck, toward the officers' cabin.
I just realized something. I'm wearing a mask.
Ah, yes. You are, at that. How does it feel?
I don't know. It's different from the shroud I just bought, but...
Terra did not move from her spot, and for a long moment I looked back at the cramped cabin I'd just left. Finally, I shook my head, and cleared my throat.
Terra's head shot upright, and she spun around, hand going to her sword with a speed that would have put half the legions of Doma to shame. "Who's there?!" I stepped out of the shadows, and Terra's hand dropped to her side. She didn't relax her stance, though. "You?"
"I thought I'd sleep out under the stars tonight." I hefted the bedroll under my right arm.
I stepped past her, but Terra grabbed my elbow, turning me to face her again. "You didn't...hear what we were talking about just now, did you?"
I looked away.
"You did."
I shrugged. "I didn't mean to overhear anything."
She sagged a little at that, though I couldn't tell whether it was relief or disappointment. I wasn't sure which would bother me more. "All right." She turned away.
"This is nothing unusual, you know." Terra paused and looked back at me, while I blinked and silently called myself ten kinds of idiot. What was I doing?! Still, the words continued to pour out of my mouth. "Most people go through it at one point or another. It's normal."
"Normal." I blinked again, this time at the venom in her voice. "Normal people don't wear a Slave Crown for two years. Normal people have a childhood to remember. Normal people are human." She turned away from me, gripping the rails tightly. "I'm hardly...normal."
"As you like." I could not keep a trace of amusement out of my voice, and Terra stiffened. Before she could say anything, though, I went on in a more somber tone. "But for some people, not remembering would be a blessing."
She blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Have you ever been to Zozo?"
She flinched, which I didn't entirely understand. "Once."
That was a mystery to be unraveled later. "Once is usually enough." I turned to the sea, and we stood side-by-side, watching the waves. "Once upon a time, I grew up there."
I felt Terra's eyes upon me. "Shadow..."
"I didn't know who my family was--but that was a blessing in that hell-hole."
"I don't understand."
Neither did I. What was wrong with me tonight? "Life is cheap. I never knew my parents...but I had a partner, one who did--and he lived to regret it." My mouth tightened behind my mask. I didn't like talking about Baram; it led me toward things I had long ago decided not to think about.
Baram?! From the last memory?
Looks like it.
I shook my head and pressed on. "His parents were killed when he was...six, I think it was. They were long, torturous deaths--and he had to watch the entire thing from the closet where they had hidden him."
I did look over at Terra now. She had raised one hand to cover her mouth, her eyes wide with horror. My voice hardened as I continued. "But he survived. I survived. We prospered, for a time...even found love." I turned back to the ocean. "For a time."
This is odd.
What?
My thoughts--in the memory, I mean.
How so?
My mind is empty. I'm literally thinking about nothing.
"Shadow..."
I forced myself to turn and face her. It was hard; the moonlight glinted off her diaphanous hair, bathing her in a soft blue glow. She could have been a spirit--and she looked far too much like someone I would never think about again for my comfort.
I'm doing it again.
Odd.
I caught and held her eyes. "I can't help you. No one can." I turned away, and crouched to open my bedroll. "The answers you're looking for must come from within." Now leave, I screamed in my mind.
For a moment, I thought she would do just that. Then, to my horror, her arms slid around my neck. "Thank you," she whispered into my ear.
I went rigid in her grasp. My joints locked as I fought the rising panic in my mind--fought to forget, and to remain still. Terra's arms fell away as I rose, my body on autopilot, struggling to restrain my impulses.
This memory...it's right on the edge of the towers, isn't it?
What was your first clue?
Finally, I succeeded. I took a deep breath, and opened my eyes. Terra stepped back at whatever she saw in them; I grabbed her shoulder, and she flinched. "Terra."
She stared back at me. It was the first time I'd ever used her name. "Be very careful," I continued, in as flat a voice as I could manage. "There are many people in this world who have killed their emotions." I stepped forward, and she shrank back--but her feet were rooted to the deck, held in place by my eyes and my firm grip. "People like me." I released her, and she stumbled back, losing her footing and falling to the deck. She looked up at me, and her gaze puzzled me. There was fear, as I had intended, and some sense of betrayal, as well--but there was something else, as well. I didn't think I wanted to find out what. "Remember that."
I turned away, and a moment later heard her footsteps trail across the deck. The cabin door opened, then closed with a soft click.
I looked up at the stars and the moon. I wondered how long it would take me to fall asleep tonight.
-FLASH-
...Whoa.
Are you all right?
I...I think so. Can we rest? That was draining.
No hurry. You collapsed; we have plenty of time.
Time...How long did that take?
Hard to say. Time flows differently here...but why don't you take a look at what we rebuilt?
...HOLY--
Impressive, no?
That thing is a mansion! We rebuilt that?
Well, it's an important memory. It's close to the towers, you might have noticed.
I did. I wonder how much that had to do with the blank spots...?
How so?
They could be linked to the memories in the towers. I mean, you can't understand something if you haven't recovered the right memories, right?
Not exactly. Certainly, I can't understand everything until it's been linked up, but I can construct a framework and try to deduce things--and that wouldn't affect how you saw the memory, at any rate.
Then it's not the towers?
I didn't say that. An unrecovered memory would have been available--but not a buried memory.
What do you mean?
We're close to the towers, now. Can you see their bases from here?
I think so. I...What in Kefka's ten hells is that?!
What do you see?
There's a...a pit around the towers. It's wide, and it's deep.
What does that tell you?
The towers are rising up out of the pit...Wait. Did they create it?
Very good.
The earthquake...it was those towers rising up, wasn't it?
You're missing the point. Where were they beforehand?
Before? They must have been buried...under...
Exactly. Those three memories were buried so deep that for all intents and purposes, they weren't there. You didn't think about those memories because you couldn't.
In other words...
They were repressed.
Repressed...THE NIGHTMARES!
Nightmares?
I've been having trouble sleeping because of my dreams. The doctor said three traumatic memories were behind it...damn it, why didn't I see it before? Those things are the cause of everything!
Oh dear.
..."Oh dear." I'm not going to like this, am I?
Not particularly, no.
I'm going to have to enter the towers, aren't I?
Yes.
...I've been entering the towers.
Yes.
Have we made any progress?
Not until the last time you were here.
Last...oh, the doctor.
Whatever he did, it worked wonders. You could barely describe anything, but you made it through the first tower.
The first?
There's only one way into the towers, and it only lets you into one. You can't see that from here, but you can see the ramps connecting the others. The only way into the second tower is the ramp from the first--and the only way into the third is the ramp from the second.
Yes...yes, you're right...
What is it?
The doctor talked about these memories settling back down into my subconscious. That's...not going to happen, is it?
Probably not. To destroy them, we'd have to control them, first--and we've never been able to control these memories.
Yeah....All right, let's give this a try.
-FLASH-
What the...
"...let you down...I'm sorry..."
What is this?
Shadow!
Yes?
You can hear me?! Thank the goddesses! What's going on?
I...I'm not sure. I--gah!
Shadow! Talk to me!
I...I don't....There's something in here!
Something? What?
I don't know. I can't see, I just--ah! It just went past my leg!
You can't see? What about the memory?
St...stay back!
SHADOW!
What memory? There's no--wait. What was that?!
What is what?
I just saw a flash, a moment ago. It's--there it is again!
Is it the same as--
No, it's different. It's--there it is again! That's...wait, that's water!
Water?
No, wait. It's not just water, it's--
"You're...coward!"
What was that?!
Forget that, focus on the water! What else?
...
Shadow!
...It's coming.
What's--
I...I can feel it coming! It's almost here!
Forget about it, Shadow! What's with the water?!
It's water and--AAAAH!
Shadow!
No! Get away! You can't--NO!
What's--oh no! It's waking you up! Shadow, get out of there NOW!
How? Where?!
Go through! It should almost be done, just--
There it--aagh!--is again!
Get out! Hurry!
No, wait, I saw it! I saw it this time! It was water and--aah!--and--
Shadow!
"Clyde! How dare you!?"
--AND BLOOD!
-FLASH-
Are you all right?
I...I think so. Give me a second.
Take it. That was harder than I thought it would be.
How much did you get out of that?
Water and blood. There wasn't enough for anything else.
Someone was talking. Do you know who...?
There wasn't enough. I'm sorry.
Oh.
Don't worry about it too much. That was still more than we've managed to get from it before.
And we've tried it how many times, exactly?
Quite a few. This is only the second time we've actually made it through the first tower, though.
Wonderful. I'll die of old age before we just make sense of this one.
I don't think it'll be that bad. Whatever the doctor did is working; we've made more progress the last two tries than the twenty before that.
Twenty?
We've been trying to scale these towers ever since they first arose. These are the most important things for us.
I..guess that makes sense. Hey--why were you so surprised you could talk to me?
The last time you went through, I couldn't.
...
And I could when you tried the second tower, which was really surprising to me.
I wonder what was different?
I told you before, don't underestimate the doctor's work. It was progressing even as you were asleep.
Yeah...
You really couldn't see anything in there?
Pitch-black.
Huh. I wonder if that will improve with time, as well...?
I hope not.
Oh?
I don't know what that was in there, but it was bad enough sensing it--no way do I want to see it!
Well, we'll worry about that another day.
Yeah. Another day.
...
Say, could you tell me about the buildings that were here before?
Before the towers, you mean?
Yes. Were they all as majestic as the one we reclaimed before?
I don't know about "majestic." They were all large, but their appearance depended on their function.
I don't follow.
It reflects the importance to you of the people in the memory.
So Terra is...
Someone of great significance in your life before, yes.
Are there other buildings like that?
Quite a few, but most of them were destroyed when the towers rose up. In fact, there was one...do you have a pet?
A pet? Not that I know of. Why?
You did, at some point. One of the buildings closest to the center was...well, it was essentially a giant doghouse.
...a doghouse.
Yes, a doghouse. I don't recall the memory that was in it, but the structure was bigger than the mansion.
A dog was that important to me? Why?
I don't know. I've seen hints of his presence in other memories I've recovered, though. In fact, now that I think of it, if you were wearing a mask, the dog should have been in the mansion, as well.
Really? I wonder where he was?
I'll check on it later.
All right.
...
...
Deep, isn't it?
Yes. How many buildings were lost to this pit?
Hmmm...I don't recall, exactly. This close to the center, it wasn't just buildings; there were protective structures in place, as well.
Protective structures? Why? Who would I have to defend my own mind against?
The Empire.
Empire? I don't remember anything about an Empire.
It will come back to you eventually. The building's been recovered--it's just a matter of you learning how to find it again.
How am I supposed to do that when I'm awake?
You're a resourceful man, Shadow. I'm sure you'll think of something.
You have no idea how...reassuring that is.
Well, enough of that for now. Take a look back at the first tower. See the plate over the door?
Yes, I see it. It's...is that a chocobo?
Yes. I was hoping you might have some idea as to what that might mean.
I'm not sure. It's saddled, but...sorry.
All right, no hurry. I get the feeling we'll be staring at that plate a lot. How about the other one?
What other one?
The one over the door to the second tower.
Ah. That's...a mask? I don't understand.
Well, there's only one way to find out, isn't there?
...
Shadow? You okay?
Do I...have to do this right now?
The second tower?
Yeah.
Well...you don't HAVE to, but...
But?
The only way back is the way you came.
The first tower again.
Right.
Ugh...I don't know if I can do that, either.
Two bad choices, huh? Well, you've got time to think. Relax.
Do I...I wonder...
...
Hey.
Hm?
Everything here is a memory, right?
That's right.
Everything?
Yes, but why--no. You're not serious.
I guess there's three choices, then, aren't there?
No! You can't jump, it's too dangerous! Shadow, WAI--
-FLASH-
I fell through the darkness, tumbling end over end as the wind rushed around me. A great fear seized me; this was the end--I understood it now--and I did not want to die.
But I could do nothing but fall, fall through the darkness with the scream that was ripped from my throat my only companion, waiting endlessly to hit a bottom I couldn't see--
"Stop that!"
--until I suddenly felt hot clammy fabric beneath me, hot clammy fabric over me, a painful bright cascade crashing over my eyelids, diluting the darkness and at the same time making me aware that my eyes were closed.
It wasn't easy...but it was familiar. I groaned as the bright sun assaulted my eyes, squinting and flinching away.
"Hey, now."
A shadow suddenly blocked the sun. I blinked, slowly making out a small, stocky silhouette. The doctor. He rested a cool hand on my forehead. "Are you awake, boy?"
I raised an eyebrow, and he chuckled. "Right. Stupid question." He moved back a few steps, still keeping himself between me and the sun. "Can you sit up?"
"I think so." I pushed myself up on my elbows and shuffled back against the wall, using it as a brace to force myself upright. The sun resumed its attack from this new angle, and I shielded my eyes with one hand. "Where..."
"Your room. Your lovely nurse carried you up here, then sent for me." He glared at me. "You gave her a real scare, you know. We weren't sure you were going to make it."
I winced. "Sorry."
"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to." He clapped me lightly on the shoulder. "Well, no harm done. You're alive, and that's what's important." He laid two fingers across my throat, and his voice turned curious. "What happened to you, though?"
"Huh?"
"Your energy, boy. It's been completely restructured."
I blinked. "Wasn't that the idea?"
"Pshaw! In a month or two, maybe! But this?" He waved his pipe in the air for emphasis. "You get stabbed in the side, infected with some kind of poison--I'm still not sure what--nearly die--again--and come out of it progressing ten times faster than you should have in the best of circumstances? It's not possible!" He bit down on the pipe so hard that I heard the wood crack. He spat out the end, and glared at me. "What in the world are you?"
I drew back. "I...well..."
At that moment, the door opened. "Doctor, I brought some wet cloths and--" Terra stopped dead and gaped at me.
She looked tired, I thought absently as I regarded her in turn, even though she fought hard not to show it. There was no sag in her posture, and her clothing--a bright blue dress with a split skirt that tickled the edges of my memory--swirled about her with a lively fervor. Her face was drawn, though, and her eyes--!
The doctor said I'd given her a scare, but I didn't really understand until then. Even as I watched, a heavy weight seemed to slide from her shoulders and her eyes began to water.
"Um...hi." I waved tentatively. "I--oof!"
I barely saw her cross the room, a sky-colored blur that crashed into my chest and resolved into my sobbing friend.
Wait...friend?
"Shadow! Oh, thank the goddesses!" My eyes flicked to the doctor; he watched me without a trace of surprise. He knew...?
Terra glared at me through her tears. "Don't you ever do that to me again!" She glanced over at the doctor. "How long has he been up?"
"Just a couple of minutes." He shook his head. "It surprised me, too."
"Wait a minute." I pushed Terra back and sat up a little straighter. "What's going on?"
"Shadow..." Terra glanced down, and realization finally struck. That dress--the seamstress! But she said... "You've been asleep for ten days."
I sucked in a sharp breath. "Ten days..."
At that moment, the doctor hopped back on the bed and cocked his head toward the window. "Am I the only one hearing that?"
"Hearing wh--" I broke off as I realized what he was talking about. It was still faint, and hard to hear over the ocean, but there was a rumbling sound, growing steadily louder.
"That's..." Terra rushed to the window, and laughed. "It is! The Falcon!"
She turned back to us, and I felt a pang of guilt at the relief in her eyes and smile. "They're back!"
I gazed at the open doorway.
The sun had struck Terra's hair as she flew out of the room, sending a bright flash my way that lingered long after she was gone. It was familiar somehow, but...
"Something on your mind, boy?"
I started. I'd forgotten the doctor was still in the room. "I...I haven't been a very good patient, have I?"
"No, you haven't." I sighed, and the doctor chuckled. "But from what she's told me, you've never been a good patient--why should a little thing like amnesia change that now?"
I looked at the doorway again. "How long has she...?"
He rubbed his chin. "Can't say for sure--I've been stopping by to check you every so often, but after the first day you were more or less out of danger. At a rough guess, though, she's slept less these ten days than you did the week before that."
"Oh."
Neither of us said anything for the next few minutes. The rumbling stopped abruptly, and I glanced over at the window. The Falcon must have landed.
"So...you knew."
The doctor looked at me for a long moment, then nodded.
"How long...?"
"Since I first examined you." My jaw dropped, and he laughed. "Come on, boy, I'm not blind! I follow what happens in this world, and you and your friends have been at the center of most of it for the last two years. Even if I didn't recognize your lovely green-haired nurse--or your crabby blond nurse, for that matter--" I chuckled involuntarily, and he winked at me. "--there's only one airship left in this world, and only a few people who ride on it. It wasn't too hard to guess."
"But if you knew, then..."
"Why?"
I nodded.
He sighed, and gave me a solemn look. "I won't pretend I approve of what you do, boy. But I took an oath, long ago." He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "I swore to do no harm, and to turn away none who sought my help. If he'd come to me, I would have patched up Kefka himself." He flashed a crooked grin. "Mind you, I can't think of a scenario where he'd have needed my help, but..."
I nodded in understanding. Then, the first thing he'd said registered. "Wait. What I do? What's--"
At that moment, we heard the innkeeper call out a greeting from the still open doorway. A few seconds later, Terra answered.
"That sounds like my cue to book." The doctor hopped onto the window sill. "Later, boy! Look me up before you leave town!"
"Look you up...no, wait--!" It was too late; he'd already disappeared. "How does he do that?"
I started as a loud crash echoed throughout the inn. A moment later, a cacophany of voices sprang to life below.
"Grab him!" Terra shouted.
An unearthly growl reverberated through the inn, and Locke's voice echoed up a half second later. "What are you looking at me for?"
"Oh, fucking hell," came an unfamiliar woman's voice. "Interceptor, NO!"
Interceptor...?
That started everyone shouting again. I heard another crash, and then the innkeeper joined the angry chorus. The growls cut off abruptly...and Setzer's voice jumped three octaves.
"Relm!" Celes bellowed over Locke's laughter.
"Sorry," the unfamiliar woman said, not sounding all that penitent. "It's the smell in here. Okay, Interceptor, let go. Come on...just because it's never been used doesn't mean you can...good boy."
"Oh, very--ow!--funny. See if I ever help you again, you flat chested, dog-fucking little b--"
"Setzer!"
"Now see here! Either control that thing, or get the hell out of my inn!"
"I can control him just fine," Relm snapped. "It's not my fault you shit in the mugs before you open up in the morning!"
"Watch your mouth, girl, or I'll wash it out with soap."
"Soap? Here?"
"...Interceptor?"
The room suddenly grew quiet at Terra's query. When Relm next spoke, her voice was low, almost afraid to break the silence. "What is it, boy? You smell something besides this crap they're serving?"
"Terra?" Celes asked quietly. "Is he still in the same room?"
"Yes, he's...wait. You don't think Interceptor--" She broke off at the sound of excited yelping. "Oh, great!"
"Interceptor, NO!"
There was a loud pounding on the stairs, and the yelps got louder. I barely had time to sit upright before a huge black shape shot through the open door, slamming into my chest and knocking me back onto my back. I could only gaze up in amazement as it threw back its head and howled in triumph.
It was a dog--a huge, black dog with brown streaks and rows of sharp teeth that glinted in the sunlight.
I stared. This was an animal to strike fear into anyone--big, aggressive, and very, very dangerous. But I felt no fear at all, not the least bit of worry. I actually felt comfortable; the dog's presence was familiar, as if--
It finally clicked. "You're...Interceptor?" The dog let out a chest-rattling bark and licked my face. "Ack! Hey!"
"God damn it, Interceptor!" Footsteps pounded down the hallway to my door, and I turned to look. "Get your flea-bitten, goat-fucking ass back here! I oughtta--oh, hi. Shadow, right? You really do look different without that shitty black rag around your face."
I stared, jaw dropping.
I knew who this was, who this had to be. She was much as Terra had described her--young, just beginning to grow into a woman. Her clothes--a pair of extremely tight slacks, a golden sash draped around her waist, and a blouse that ended at her armpits--and stance--hand on her hip, head cocked--both spoke of reckless arrogance. A few curls of blond hair trickled out from under her beret, and she looked at me with faint amusement. It was the expression that held me.
Terra had said nothing about her having hazel eyes.
"You're..."
"Relm Arrowny." Interceptor hopped off the bed and trotted over to her.
I couldn't look away from her eyes. A bead of sweat trickled down the side of my face, and a sudden chill raced down my spine. "Relm...you're..."
"You."
Relm started and spun around, stepping away from the doorway and the crowd that had gathered just outside. There was Terra, and Celes, and Locke, and Setzer--and in front of them all was a squat old man, dressed in leathers, glaring at me with undisguised hatred.
Terra laid a hand on his shoulder. "Strago...?"
"You."
I blinked. "What--ack!"
Before anyone could stop him, he sprinted across the room, barreled into me and knocked me off the bed, tumbling with me to the ground.
"You!" His hands wrapped around my throat, and he slammed my head back against the floor.
"YOU!" *thud* "YOU BLACK HEARTED--" *thud* "--MURDERING--" *thud* "--SON OF A BITCH!!!"
The frantic shouting drifted away, and the spots gathering in my eyes finally blotted out his murderous gaze. This, I decided as I faded from consciousness, was not good.