Part VIII: Mythic Magi

It was mid-morning when Celes stepped out of the hospice. Though clad in her customary black jerkin, she felt the conspicuous absence of her gold armor. It was with some discontent she learned the belt straps of her pauldrons cut directly across the still sensitive claw marks on her back while her right bracer did the same to the punctures in her arm.

The decision to forgo them, though practical, wasn't easy for the general. She took pride in wearing her battle-worn field uniform. Unlike the standard issue bronze armor of her subordinates, hers bore the signs of her rank and class: a gold horn cresting the point of each shoulder and the center of both bracers. Proving them to be more than superfluous decoration, she had once ripped a man's throat out with a twist of her wrist, pierced another's heart with a well-aimed shoulder charge. Further adorning her armor were manufactured orbs of mystical affinity similar to those of her Rune Blade. They helped to dispel small amounts of overflow during Runic, giving off the same icy glow as the etchings of her sword when active.

Without her armor, she was left with a mild sense of vulnerability, and 'traipsing through the mountains,' as her colleague put it, would not be without peril. She certainly didn't cut the same imposing figure. It was a vain sentiment, she knew, but as a woman still in her teens, it was an edge she needed when commanding an army.

Adjusting the collar of her jerkin, Celes swept her eyes around the village and found the scene much calmer than she last remembered. Once the Flame Coeurl had fled, the townspeople had an easier time putting out the fires with the help of the Magitek soldiers accompanying the generals. Those Imperials were still milling about, looking out of place in the small settlement but not necessarily unwelcome.

She caught sight of Terra amidst a cluster of locals, Locke hovering protectively nearby. Given the look of discomfiture on the half Esper's face, Celes guessed her 'special gifts' had been brought to light. The general shook her head; even in a village full of the mystically inclined, the poor woman still couldn't escape the center of interest.

Wanting to avoid that kind of attention, Celes gave them a wide berth and moved quietly along the path. She soon found the mercenary in front of the burned down house, standing motionlessly as he stared at the ruins. Smoke continued to rise from the structure's charcoal skeleton, and the scent of burning wood lingered in the air.

"Was that your attempt to be useful?" she wondered from a couple feet behind him.

If he was surprised by her presence, he didn't show it. "I just wanted my dog back," he answered gruffly.

"And if he hadn't been a hundred yards out into the field taking on a panther, I might believe that."

Shadow's masked face turned towards the town square. Following his gaze, Celes saw Relm fussing over Interceptor in the shade of a large tree. She found it odd how his eyes lingered there but chose not to press.

"Is this where you decide your services are of no further use?" The mercenary didn't reply, instead calling for his companion as he walked away. "How will you get off the island?"

"I'll find a way."

With that, he was gone.

For a brief moment, Celes toyed with the idea of making a similar disappearance, if only until Leo was ready to leave. Eying the small grove of trees at the edge of town with considerable interest, it wasn't until she saw Strago in her peripheral vision that she realized her desire to evade notice had been thwarted. A head shorter than she was, the old man looked up at her with a far warmer expression than their first meeting.

"General Chere, is it?" She gave a slight dip of her head in acknowledgment. "Gods bless you for what you did the other night. Relm is all I have in the world. I couldn't bear to lose her."

Uncomfortable with the old man's gratitude, Celes tried not to squirm. Mercifully, he didn't seem to be expecting a response.

"I suppose we haven't been formally introduced." He offered a bow. "Strago Magus, life-long student of monster lore." The lifting of a skeptical brow prompted Strago to continue. "…and descendent of the Magi."

Celes gave a low humorless chuckle but otherwise remained mute. Leo had appeared at her side a moment before and was currently sending her a beseeching look that she deftly ignored.

"I confess myself surprised," Strago continued, apparently undaunted by her reticence. "You're a Rune Knight?" Again, she nodded. "A fascinating lineage, though I thought the bloodlines were lost."

"Ironic coming from a Magi," she remarked, finally breaking her silence.

"I suppose it is."

"The power is manufactured," she explained flatly, "and I'm the only one of my kind."

The Magi nodded in acceptance. "Even so, it only takes one child to carry on the line."

Celes fought off a grimace. "And if it were that simple, I wouldn't be a weapon of war."

Leo donned a thoughtful expression. "The Mother of Vector." The title earned him a withering glare, and he opted to spare his colleague further torment. "I'm afraid it does not hold the same ring."

By that point, Terra and Locke had wandered over, prompting Strago to look around suspiciously.

"Say…where is your masked friend?" Celes gestured in the direction Shadow had gone, and the old man grunted in what sounded like disdain. "Typical," he mumbled.

"Problem?" Leo inquired.

"No, no!" Strago plastered on a smile. "No problem."

Though unconvinced, the elder general turned to Celes. "So much for your hired man."

She waved it off. "He didn't kill anyone, he didn't steal from anyone, and I didn't have to pay him."

"The benchmarks of any successful partnership," Leo interjected dryly.

Celes continued evenly in spite of him. "Throw in that little stunt with Relm, and I'd say he worked out just fine."

She and her companions all glanced at Strago when they heard him grumbling under his breath.

"…never was one to follow through…" Noticing the attention he was getting, Strago clapped his hands together. "So, heading to the Mystic Mountains!" he proclaimed a little too brightly. "The Sleeping Sisters are all but impassable, so your best bet is Infinity Peaks. There's an entrance to the caverns north of the valley."

"North of the valley," Leo confirmed with a nod.

"That mountain is a labyrinth," the Magi warned. "Best to take someone along who knows those passages."

"Do you know of someone we may we ask?"

"Well, I…I can think of two people who might be crazy enough to revisit those caves." He gave a broad grin. "And I'm the other one."

There was a pregnant silence as the two Imperials realized Strago was serious. At her colleague's inquiring look, Celes answered with a subtle shake of her head.

Leo gave a cordial bow to the Magi. "Gratitude for the aid you've given us, but we couldn't ask more of you."

"You'll have to go through Vanishing Forest to get there," the old man went on. "I could show you the safest path."

"Mr. Magus—"

"And no one knows the native wildlife better. And I mean wild."

"We would of course be indebted to you, however—"

"Oh, I'm so stoked!" Strago exclaimed. "Just let me get my staff, and we'll be on our way!"

As the Magi made a beeline for his house, Celes turned to Leo with arms crossed and a brow raised. She waited until her male counterpart met her gaze—and he did so only reluctantly—before speaking.

"I'd like to state for the record that the man I hired was a well-built mercenary with a highly trained combat dog." She waited a beat to let it sink in. "That's a seventy-year-old with a walking stick."

"He's a master of monster lore," Leo reasoned weakly.

"Wonderful. He can tell us the evolutionary history of every animal that tries to kill us."

"A guide could prove to be an invaluable resource."

"And an needless liability," Celes countered. "I thought we agreed not to involve these people further."

"We did. However, liabilities have a way of becoming justifiable in extenuating circumstances. I do believe that is why you are here instead of sharing the isolation block with General Palazzo."

She saw regret flash across his face the moment the words left his mouth, but it didn't lessen the surprising sting of hurt she felt. The man impulsively reached out to her, but she quickly withdrew from his intended touch. Realizing his second mistake, Leo closed his eyes for a moment to collect himself.

"I apologize. That was uncalled for."

Celes pushed the unwelcome pang aside and dropped her gaze from his. "No, you're right," she agreed, her expression growing stony. "There's only one reason I'm here."

"Lady Celes—"

She turned on her heel and headed for the hospice before he could finish. "I need to make sure Khione is taken care of."

It was a lie, of course. Arrangements had already been made with the hospice caretaker, and the injured wolf had been curled up on a pad behind the man's desk when Celes left earlier.

She quietly passed through the entryway and headed to her room. Once the door was closed behind her, she lowered herself to the floor with her back against the side of the cot, ignoring the soreness it caused. She freed Shiva's magicite from beneath her jerkin and clasped it lightly in her hand, an almost unconscious habit since departing the Imperial Continent. It had become a sort of perverse comfort—to embrace the very thing she was reluctant to possess in the first place—but she found no comfort in it now.

She was no stranger to irrational ridicule. For years, she had been Gestahl's perfect soldier, the beloved daughter of the Empire. Magically enhanced but more versatile than Terra. Skilled in swordsmanship but more ambitious than Leo. Militarily cunning but more reliable than Kefka. As such, the line she was expected to tread was far narrower and more demanding than that of her peers. If she was iron-fisted, she was a butcher, whereas if she showed mercy, she was a traitor. If she kept an emotional distance, she was made of stone, but the moment she exhibited a conscience, she was too soft. All far harsher criticisms than Leo's ill-considered slip.

Why then did it hurt so much?

She supposed because it had been only a short time ago that he had defended her actions and voiced support for her pardon. Back then, he had called her his equal.

Now suddenly she was a liability.

She clenched her fist around the magicite until her knuckles turned white, but the icy chill against her palm couldn't contend with the hot anger welling inside her. A liability? Who had guided the expedition team to the island? Who had everyone turned to when confronted with fiery calamity? Who had been charged with completing the mission should Terra fail? She may be a piece on the emperor's chess board as Locke had once insisted, but even a lowly pawn can force her opponent into checkmate.

The bitter truth was that Leo was blinded by his own sense of honor, leaving her to face the harshness of reality alone.

'Tell me, do you know why you are here while General Palazzo is in detainment?'

Celes clamped her arms around her head at the unbidden memory. She couldn't afford to think about that now. It would only complicate her already convoluted frame of mind. Instead, she fell into the practiced simplicity of her soldier mentality and recalled her mission parameters: escort Terra, locate the Espers. She recited the words in her mind like a mantra, letting the hypnotic repetition ground her. Her anger ebbed away, gradually replaced by cold focus. Escort Terra, locate the Espers. Anything outside that was beyond her concern unless and until Terra failed.

By the time she rejoined Leo and the others at the village square a short while later, the general's mask was firmly in place. Seeing Strago waiting with them—swathed in a bright red traveler's cape and eyes bright with eagerness—incited a flash of stubborn disapproval, but she quickly quelled it.

Escort Terra, locate the Espers.

If Leo wanted to sanction further civilian involvement and risk the old man's life, he could bear that responsibility alone. He could take the whole village into those mountains; it wouldn't change the outcome. That was reality. So she held her tongue and gave Strago a civil nod. Leo likewise kept his silence, and they began the journey south.

Whether oblivious to the tension or simply trying to relieve it, the lore master chattered amicably about the island as they traveled. He told them the legend of the Sleeping Sisters, where four young girls were said to have been sacrificed to seal away one of the Great Fiends. Folklore claimed the sisters still slumbered deep in the mountains and that if they were ever disturbed, the Fiend would break free to ravage the earth once more.

When Terra asked if he believed the legend, Strago shrugged with a cryptic little smile. Were there really four children and a Great Fiend imprisoned in those mountains for the past thousand years? He didn't know. But there were times—when billowing thunderheads would form directly over the towering heights and cast down bolts of lightning so powerful they shook the island, when others would swear they heard the roar of an immense beast within the crashing thunder—Strago couldn't help but wonder.

While the attention of the two Returners and two Imperials lingered curiously on the misty peaks of the Sleeping Sisters, Strago began a new narration by pointing out a small group of Briarei. Despite possessing muscular builds, powerful looking claws and beaks, and thick armored plates along their spines, he claimed the creatures to be relatively harmless omnivores. He went on to explain that the smaller-statured Adamankary, the mountain-dwelling cousin of the Briareus, was far more aggressive.

After another few lessons in Thamasan history and wildlife biology, the group found themselves standing at the edge of the forest.

"Just through here now," their guide assured them.

"Hey, Gramps," Locke called. "Why is it called Vanishing Forest?"

Strago paused. "Oh…you'll see."

When they emerged from the trees several hours later, both Locke and Terra were paler than normal. Even the two generals looked rather unsettled.

The mist had been especially thick in the forest. Its mirror-like particles were ever changing in the shifting light that filtered through the canopy, wreaking havoc on their perceptions. It danced in the shadows like packs of wolves stalking their prey. It floated on the wind like specters from the underworld. It created the illusion of solid ground where there was only air; a clear path where there was only rock and vine; the sparkle of water in the distance where there was only dirt and root.

Strago alone remained unperturbed as he ushered them onward towards the valley nestled between the Sleeping Sisters and Infinity Peaks. It was a short distance until they reached what was promised to be an entrance into the caverns.

"Here we are," Strago announced.

Entrance, however, seemed a bit of an overstatement. Little more than a crack in the rock, it was barely wide enough for an adult human to squeeze through and not nearly as tall.

Even Locke appeared skeptical. "You're sure about this?"

"If the Espers are anywhere on this island, it's in there. I'd bet my beard on it."

"You couldn't bet something more valuable?" the thief grumbled, earning a prod from Terra's elbow. "Fine," he relented. "Wait here. I'll check it out."

It took some maneuvering, but the lithe adventurer soon disappeared from sight.

"All right in there?" Leo called.

"Looks stable enough," came the reply. "Watch your head."

Once he had helped Strago get started through the entrance, Leo motioned for Terra to follow. The mage's eyes, however, were not on the entrance but on the rocky crags high above. Standing just behind her shoulder, Celes remained mute as she waited for the younger woman to voice the question she wasn't finding an answer to.

"What happens if we don't find them?" the mage soon asked.

"Honestly, I'm more worried about what happens if we do."

Terra sent Celes a questioning look, but the knight just shook her head.

By the time each member of the group had made it inside, Strago had produced a small lantern from within his cloak. The small flame provided a modest ring of illumination, enough for the five to see the shadowy silhouette of the trail ahead of them.

"Be wary," he warned as he began leading them deeper into the caves. "Flame Coeurls are not the only deadly creatures in these mountains."

The tunnel remained constricting and uneven as it wound around sharp turns and scaled up sheer vertical rises in the rock floor in an unpredictable but ever ascending course. It then widened abruptly into a junction, presenting the group with three diverging trails and, for the first time since departing Thamasa, Strago seemed at a loss.

"You did say you have been here before," Leo prompted subtly when their guide hesitated to choose a path.

The old man huffed. "Of course I have!"

"And…when was that?" Celes followed.

Strago scratched his bearded chin. "Oh, must have been…forty some years ago."

The blonde drew in a calming breath but said nothing. Invaluable resource.

After a prolonged period of deliberation, Strago turned onto the eastern path but didn't get very far before Terra emitted a groan of revulsion. The young mage was gingerly lifting her foot out of what looked like a puddle of green and yellow slime. Closer inspection suggested it was the remains of a larval creature that was once the size of a small child.

"A Bonnacon," their guide declared. "The lesser predators here feed on them."

Locke's face scrunched in similar disgust. "No invertebrate should be that large."

"They're harmless, really. Except when they swarm…" The Magi walked a couple paces, then paused. "Oh, and the mucus." He shook it off. "But really, it's when they pupate and become Grillons that you have to be extra careful. They'll drive you mad."

From that point forward, the passages opened up into yawning caverns. After nearly three hours of navigating dead ends, circular paths, and junctures Strago swore didn't exist when he was younger, they emerged into the fresh air of a grassy ridge on the western side of the mountain. There, they came across a dozen or so arthropods congregating calmly on a large boulder. The length of a human arm, each creature was armored by a nearly transparent carapace, a pair of wide pincers, and a barbed tail curled over their back.

"We should keep moving," Strago said in a strained whisper.

"Is something wrong?" Leo wondered.

"Those are Akravid scorplings."

"Scorplings?" Locke echoed in disbelief. "How big are the adults?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the 'boulder' began to move. "…never mind."

Turning from the birdlike Venobennu carcass she was feeding on, the giant mother Akravid hissed angrily, clacking her mandibles and pincers at the intrusion. Within moments, another adult emerged from the caves, allowing the queen to retreat out of sight with her litter safe on her back.

Though smaller in stature than the female, the newly arrived male nonetheless gave the party pause as it fanned out its pincer arms and elevated its tail high over its body in an attack stance. Leo unsheathed his longsword in response. He narrowly side-stepped the scorpion's barbed tail as it lashed forward, and he retaliated with a slash of his sword.

The metal bounced harmlessly off the armored carapace.

Frowning, Leo ducked under the pincer that was aiming to close around his neck and brought his sword down through the joint just behind it, slicing cleanly through. The severed claw dropped to the ground, and the creature reared back in pain. With a flourish of his blade, Leo centered his focus. An electrical charge saturated the air with a high-pitched whine, which then converged at the ground beneath the scorpion. A decisive thrust with his hilt caused the pooling energy to erupt skyward in a blinding column of electricity. When the light faded, the creature fell to the ground in a twitching heap.

Looking altogether satisfied, the male general turned from the smoking carcass and sheathed his sword.

"Leo…" Celes warned.

He followed her gaze in confusion, only to fall back a step as countless more of the giant scorpions began emerging from the caves on either side of the ridge to surround them. In an unspoken agreement, Terra drew her sword and stepped up next to Leo while Locke turned around to help Celes cover the rear. Safeguarded between his younger companions, Strago tapped his staff to a stone on the ground, which inexplicably sent it flying into the head of the first Akravid to charge them. The creature stumbled to the side, lost its footing, and slipped off the cliff.

The rest of the colony only became more enraged.

Desperate to hold their circle in the ensuing melee, the five humans struggled against the thick armor of their opponents. The only weakness they were able to find were the joint cavities of the legs, pincer arms, and tails, the soft tissue behind the mandibles, and the eyes. All were small targets not easily taken advantage of amidst the flurry of natural weaponry the beasts possessed.

Celes clenched her jaw as a couple of the creatures maneuvered past her, cutting her and Locke off from their companions and wedging them both between a line of pincers and the edge of the ridge. Three barbed tails rained an erratic staccato of lashes that the knight and thief were barely able to dodge, each one carving chunks of grass and stone out of the mountain pass.

The repeated impacts soon triggered a series of cracking sounds, and the rock at their feet began to shift and crumble. Though Celes tried to leap for safer ground, the stone continued to fragment beneath her. Her foothold gave way, sending her body lurching downward and the Rune Blade slipping from her grasp. Her descent was brought to a sudden stop by a pressure around her wrist, and a cry escaped her lips at the sharp pain that shot through her arm and back. She ducked her head as two Akravids caught by the rockslide's unforgiving momentum tumbled past her.

When the shower of debris slowed, she looked up to see Locke perched precariously over the edge of the newly reformed cliff. One hand clutched hers while the other likely gripped the blade he had buried into a stable portion of rock.

Unfortunately, their vulnerable position hadn't gone unnoticed, as one of the smaller males was testing the ground near Locke. The thief had no way of defending them, and with her still-healing muscles already burning with fatigue, the knight knew she wouldn't be able to pull herself up. Turning her attention downward, she saw a large outcropping of rock covered in rubble from the avalanche. The landing would likely hurt, but it was survivable.

"Locke, let go!" she called.

"Are you crazy?!"

"Trust me!"

"Sure, now you want me to trust you!"

The young Akravid snapped his mandibles and pincers in displeasure at the noise of their exchange and made an experimental charge a few paces towards them. Knowing the creature wouldn't hesitate much longer and seeing no alternative, Locke went against every instinct he had and released his grip on Celes' wrist.

The fall seemed to take longer than she anticipated, and trying to soften her landing by tucking into a roll was more difficult. The loose rock cut into what flesh it could find and bruised what it could not. Her momentum halted abruptly when her spine connected with a protruding corner of stone, and she closed her eyes and laid still as she waited for the initial flood of pain to subside. Her vision was spotted even behind closed lids, and tendrils of prickling agony were coursing through her torso and limbs.

A shadow fell over her, and she opened her eyes in time to see a barbed tail hurtling towards her. It was instinct and adrenaline alone that overrode her still screaming nerves and rolled her out of the tail's target zone. Rock shattered where her body had rested a fraction of a second before, and the air blurred with another strike. Dodging to the other side, Celes threw out her hands with a flurry of ice, but the Akravid defiantly fought its way closer.

The sudden impact of a human landing on its back caused the scorpion to falter. Locke slid off the carapace, hacking through the joint of a pincer arm with his dual blades as he went. The Akravid lashed its tail forward in anger, but the thief rolled under the attack, quickly severing the second pincer. The beast reared with a shriek, presenting Celes with a vulnerability in its armored plating. Summoning a thick spike of ice, she lanced the creature through its sternum, causing it to collapse in spasms.

Only when its quivering finally ceased did Celes release the breath she had been holding. A hand appeared in her field of vision, and she stared at it for several indecisive seconds before tentatively accepting Locke's offer. Once she was steady on her feet, the thief lifted his fingers to a cut on her forehead, but she flinched away from his touch.

"You're bleeding," he explained.

"I don't need to be told that."

The sound of shifting rock drew their attention to where the second Akravid that had fallen from the cliff was crawling out of the debris. As it freed itself, Celes saw a glint of metal within the rubble.

Locke was the first to act, throwing both of his blades before the creature could attack. The first blade embedded in the scorpion's carapace while the other ricocheted off the armored tail and arced back towards his hand. Before he could catch his weapon, however, the Akravid surged forward, latching a claw around his midsection and slamming him against the rock. Serrated mandibles clicked dangerously close to his throat as the thief fought desperately to hold them back with his hands.

Behind the scorpion, Celes frantically swept rubble aside in search of the glinting metal. Casting a glance over her shoulder, she grimaced at her companion's rapidly approaching demise. Just as she was about to abandon her efforts, she saw it. Pulling the object from the debris, she turned back towards the ongoing struggle and tensed in alarm.

The scorpion had coiled its tail in preparation to strike.

Moving fast, Celes grabbed hold of the stinger just as it lashed forward and was lifted high into the air. Letting go at the peak of the tail's arc, she dropped onto the Akravid's carapace with a vicious downward thrust of her recovered Rune Blade through its center eyes. The creature released Locke as it convulsed, allowing the thief to wrench his weapon free. With a two-handed heave, he axed the blade down on the scorpion's head just above the mandibles, splitting the armored plate through the middle and ending its suffering.

Dismounting from her perch, Celes regarded the yellow slime coating her sword with blatant distaste. She skimmed the sludge off with her fingers and flicked it to the ground in revulsion. She would take good old fashioned human blood and viscera over the eyeballs and brains of a giant invertebrate any day.

Locke had retrieved his second weapon and was likewise examining both for traces of ooze, allowing Celes a good look at the unfamiliar design. Forged from a lightweight metal, the weapons resembled the shape of a fish hook, with a short reverse-grip hilt running parallel to a longer single-edged blade. The blades themselves were curved and vented with angled slots to facilitate the weapons' aerial capabilities. Celes assumed the handles were hollow for the same purpose. Despite their seemingly light construction, the weapons were crafted to deliver heavy blows as well, given the damage Locke had caused to the scorpion's thick carapace. To Celes, they appeared to be a clever hybrid falling somewhere between a boomerang and a hand axe.

"What are those?" she finally asked.

Locked glanced down at his Hawkeyes before giving a casual shrug. "Upgrades."

Her gaze grew more suspicious. "They look expensive."

"I didn't steal them, if that's what you're thinking." The thief watched her nod slowly, unconvinced. "I'm serious!" he insisted. "The blacksmith cut me a break since I helped rescue—what was his name? Seifer? Sephiroth?"

"Sareth?"

"Right. Turns out that was his kid." Judging his weapons acceptably clean, he turned his attention to the rock face leading back up to the ridge. They could still hear the ongoing melee between their comrades and the scorpion colony, but the cliffs were too steep to climb. "Can't go back that way." He reluctantly pulled his gaze away from the ridge. "I hope they're all right," he said heavily.

"You didn't have to come down here," Celes told him.

She saw Locke close his eyes and take a breath. "You're right. How inconsiderate of me to interfere with your masterful strategy of being skewered."

She winced at his caustic sarcasm. That was hardly what she had meant. He could have chosen to stay with Terra, but instead he quite literally jumped off a cliff to come help her. She quickly dispelled any trace of hurt from her face when he sent a glance her way.

What was wrong with her? First Leo and now Locke? She had never before been so easily stung by words.

She felt him watching her and belatedly realized her failure to snap a retort had likely alerted him to his error. A small voice in the back of her mind urged her to grit her teeth and simply clarify her intended gratitude, but she silenced it with a vengeance. Let the thief think her callous and unforgiving. Why should she correct him? After all, isn't that what she had spent the past weeks—the past months—trying to prove she still was? Callousness was the only way she would get through was still to come. Consequently, she remained obstinately mute as Locke surveyed their location.

"I think I see a way in," he soon ventured cautiously.

The nervousness in his tone confirmed it; he knew he had misstepped.

"Good," she acknowledged flatly. "The sooner we can get back, the better."

"Say, how's the arm?"

The sudden casualness of the query immediately aroused her mistrust. "Why?"

She stepped up beside him to follow his gaze. Nearby was a grassy outcropping wide enough for several people to stand on comfortably. Partially hidden in the shadow of the mountain was what appeared to be an opening leading back into the caverns. A curse rolled from her lips when she realized the problem.

It was too far to jump, and even she wasn't stubborn enough to try to scale the rock when she was still weak.

Locke gave a heavy sigh. "I was afraid of that. All right, climb on," he said, turning his back to her.

Celes shook her head. "We never speak of this."

"Whatever you say, milady." The remark earned the thief a smack on the head, but he didn't seem to notice as he buried the hook of one of his Hawkeyes into the rock wall. "Scorpions," he muttered. "Why couldn't it be giant bunnies?"

Even with seven Akravids dead at their feet, Leo, Terra, and Strago had no escape route open to them. The mountain pass was brimming with the giant scorpions, while more could be heard scraping along the walls of the tunnels at either end. Each time one was killed, another climbed over the bodies of the fallen to attack the human interlopers.

"This is getting nowhere!" Leo yelled over his shoulder after hacking through a jointed leg.

As though answering an unspoken prayer, a panther with a coat like molten lava leapt into the fray. The Akravids shrank away as though in fear, hissing threateningly. Some were already backing themselves through the tunnel openings and out of sight. The Flame Coeurl ignited to full blaze with an ear-splitting shriek, prompting the remaining scorpions to scuttle over one another as they retreated back into the caverns. The arthropods vanished within seconds, leaving the general and the two mages with the panther.

"Honestly," a young voice scolded. "You'd think a master of monster lore would remember that Akravids hate fire."

Daylight from the mountainside crevice was fading into the distance behind them as they walked, prompting Celes to pull Shiva's magicite out of her jerkin. The stone shed just enough light to illuminate their steps.

In place of the airy chambers of the caverns, she and Locke were following a winding tunnel up a steady incline. It was tall enough for them to walk upright and more than wide enough to accommodate them should to shoulder, but the air was thick and void of even a trace of light. Numerous smaller shafts branched off at regular intervals, and if the two listened hard enough, a scuffling sound could be imagined at the other end. It was with no small measure of dismay that Celes realized that she and Locke had stumbled into the catacombs of the scorpion colony.

Her companion seemed to share the revelation. "What are the chances we're heading straight for their den?" he posed in a whisper.

"You're the cave expert," she returned just as quietly. When the thief didn't reply, she spared him a sideways glance and could just make out an odd little smile on his face. "What are you smirking at?"

"We do have tendency to wind up in caves together."

"You aren't going to lecture me on my 'urge to kill things' again, are you?"

Before Locke could respond, the ground beneath them began to tremor, and a low rumble began somewhere in the tunnel ahead of them. Taking a few cautious steps forward, the thief squinted into the darkness. The rumbling grew louder, soon accompanied by what sounded like metal scraping against stone. Comprehension hit, and Locke hastily backed up.

"Ah…urge away."

Celes mirrored his steps. "I think I'll pass this time."

Just as the first set of glistening eyes appeared in the darkness, the two turned around and ran back the way they came. While their speed was aided by the now descending gradient, the Akravids were quickly closing the gap.

"This way!" Locke called, taking a sharp turn into one of the smaller peripheral passages.

Most of the scorpions continued on obliviously as they fled from whatever had frightened them, but the first few had seen the humans and seemed determined to eliminate the lingering threat to their territory. Still running at top speed, Celes gestured wildly with her hand and caused thick beams of ice to leap from random points in the stone passage behind them. The barred path barely slowed their pursuers down as the armored scorpions simply crashed right through.

Seeing the mouth of the passage a few meters ahead of them, Locke hurled a Hawkeye at the ceiling while using his second to smash through one of the walls as he passed through. Celes made it out a moment later, arm covering her eyes from falling debris as the rock caved in behind her. She slammed into the thief's inert form, and only after she regained her bearings did she realize he was the only thing keeping her from tumbling over the edge of a sharp drop off.

Taking stock of their new location, Celes saw they were back in the open caverns, though the area was unfamiliar. Briefly, she wondered if the seemingly frantic flood of Akravids meant their comrades had gained the upper hand.

Then came her next thought. Locke was holding on to her far longer than was necessary while he eyed the collapsed passage. Too exhausted to reprimand him, she settled for a steady glare. Whether deeming them safe or sensing her disapproval, he released her a few seconds later.

That's when she noticed her hands were shaking, but she knew better than to think it was adrenaline or aggravation. Her entire body quivered as though it was too long without a meal, and her knees felt like they would buckle at any moment. Pulling a small vial of ether out of a pouch on her belt, Celes drank half of it in a single gulp. Almost immediately, she felt a rush of cool tingling energy. She drained the rest of the vial, and the shaking subsided soon after.

"I really hate this island."

Locke didn't argue. "At least Relm isn't mixed up in all this."

"You are in big trouble, missy."

Relm crossed her arms, unwilling to flinch in the face of Strago's ire. "Why?"

"Why? Why? Because of the—! These are the—! And you're only—!" The Magi growled in frustration. "Because I said so!"

When Relm merely snorted in response, Leo knelt down to her level with a disapproving frown. "Your grandfather is right. It was foolish of you to come here."

"But I'm here to help!" she announced brightly. She jerked a thumb towards Strago. "I'm way more useful than this dried up Tumbleweed."

"Relm, you could have died!" the old man all but screeched. "You could have been eaten or gotten lost or been trapped in Bonnacon mucus!" He wrung his hands. "Bonnacon mucus, Relm!"

The girl waved him off. "Oh, quit your fussing, you old codger. You can ground me if we get home."

"If?!" Strago parroted. "Oh no, we are going home right this very minute!"

"When the Espers could be just up ahead? You're not going to turn back now." Straightening her back and lifting her chin, Relm marched up the path. "Well? What are you waiting for?"

Leo exchanged a glance with Terra as he rose to his feet. "Spirited," the general agreed.

Strago shook his head despondently. "That girl will be the death of me."

Terra caught Leo's arm before he could follow the child. "What about Celes and Locke?"

The Imperial peered over the edge of the cliff their two comrades had fallen from and saw a rock ledge a reasonable way down. Amidst the rubble was one dismembered scorpion and a second with its head split open. The knight and the thief were nowhere in sight.

"It would appear they have already moved on. As it is, I would prefer not to linger here." Seeing Terra's look of concern, Leo put a hand on her shoulder. "I wouldn't worry. Lady Celes can more than handle herself, and Mister Cole has proven himself able. I am certain they will catch up in short order."

"I hope you're right."

While Terra moved up the path, Leo spared one last glance down the side of the mountain. "As do I," he whispered.

The next portal they passed through took them back inside the caverns. Relm had already ambled on ahead of the adults, heedless of her grandfather's concern. As they journeyed deeper into the mountain, a strange sensation overcame Terra, and her pace slowed.

"Lady Terra?" Leo questioned.

"The air, it feels different."

The general stood still, gauging their surroundings. "I feel no change," he finally said.

"It's humming."

Terra looked to Strago for enlightenment, but the old man shook his head. "Gungho and I never ventured this far up."

Before he could say anything more, all three adults froze at the muffled sound of a child's yell.

"…grandpa…!"

Panicked by his granddaughter's call, Strago gathered an impressive speed in his effort to get to her, with Leo and Terra close on his heels. They soon entered a new area where the earth at their feet was comprised of loose gravel and dirt.

"Relm?! Relm!"

"Grandpa!"

Though her voice was a little louder this time, the child was still nowhere in sight.

Terra turned around in confusion. "It's a dead end."

"Here!" Leo beckoned. He was kneeling next to a freshly disturbed cleft in the floor. "She must have fallen through." He peered into the darkened hole. "Relm, are you hurt?"

"…no…"

"Are you sure?"

"…no…"

"Don't move. I'll come get you."

"Be careful," Terra told him needlessly.

Securing his gear, Leo slipped through the gap and dropped to the lower level. With a hint of light from a yet unidentified source illuminating the space, he was able to make out Relm's features. Unusually subdued, she was sitting quietly on the ground with her legs stretched out in front of her, but he didn't see any obvious wounds.

"Can you stand?"

The girl nodded mutely and allowed the general to steady her as she climbed to her feet.

"Is she all right?" Terra called.

"Just a little stunned, I think." Leo answered. Sparing a quick glance to his surroundings, he saw a darkened passage behind him and a portal glowing with the faint promise of daylight ahead. "Lady Terra, Mister Magus," he beckoned. "I believe I have found a path onward."

Receiving help from both Terra above and Leo below, Strago lowered himself through the crevice. Terra followed after him, landing with a graceful bounce in Leo's arms as he guided her down. Strago was admonishing Relm far more gently than his previous rebukes.

"What have I told you about running off like that?"

"Don't fall through holes in the ground?" she returned with similarly less fervor than her typical cheek.

"Well, I suppose we have to start somewhere," he conceded with a sigh.

Once Relm had regained a little more of her composure, they decided to investigate the exit leading outside and found themselves on a shadowy alcove nestled amongst the rocky peaks. A rope bridge spanned a fair distance from the alcove to a second recess in the opposing mountain face across the way. As not only the solider but the largest of the group, Leo crossed first. The wooden planks, though weathered and misshapen, felt solid, and the ropes appeared intact. Relm held her grandfather's hand as they traversed the bridge together, and Terra came last.

The opening leading back into the mountain was larger than the previous portals they had passed through, and the earthen path underfoot was smoother. Rounding a bend, the three adults halted at the sight that awaited them, while Relm—evidently recovered from her fall—darted up to a set of steps carved into the rock floor. Before her, three statues matching the girl in height stood equidistant from each other atop a stone dais. Sun beams shined down through an opening in the cavern ceiling, illuminating the totems in sparkling light. Closer inspection confirmed they were formed of solid gold.

"In all my years…" Strago breathed.

"Maybe it's a good thing Locke isn't here to see this," Terra mused. "What are they?"

"These represent the Warring Triad," the lore master answered in awe.

"The Warring Triad?" Leo echoed.

"Three goddesses once inhabited this world. Each goddess feared the other's power and fought ferociously to preserve her own. The humans and animals that got caught in the middle were transformed into Espers, slaves to the will of their creators. Once they realized the devastation their strife was causing, the goddesses turned themselves to stone, allowing the world to return to a state of balance. It's said the Espers fashioned golden images of their creators and enshrined them in a holy place out of gratitude for their freedom. After the War of the Magi thousands of years later, the Espers fled this realm with the stone goddesses to protect them from ever being disturbed." Strago tore his gaze away from the icons. "I think your Espers are indeed here."

Leo nodded while eyeing the golden idols. "And how will they feel about humans intruding on their holy place?"

The sound of boots crunching on loose gravel stifled further comment, and four pairs of eyes swiveled towards the open juncture on the northwest wall. Leo instinctively reached for his sword, only to relax when a familiar face emerged from the passage.

Locke gestured triumphantly. "See?"

Celes pushed past him. "I never doubted your sense of direction."

"Good."

"Only your sense of integrity."

"I'm glad you can finally—hey!"

Ignoring him, the blonde general turned her attention to Leo, who looked like he was trying to hide his relief.

"You two look a little worse for wear," he noted. "What happened?"

"Fell off a cliff," Celes answered simply.

"We were actually making pretty good time until the catacombs flooded."

Terra's forehead creased in puzzlement. "Water?"

"Residents," Locke clarified.

Relm cringed. "Oops."

The thief gave a start, apparently just realizing the child was there. "Hey…where did you come from?"

"You didn't really expect me to stay home, did you?"

He turned to Celes. "Well, at least the dog isn't mixed up in—" His eyes focused on something behind her. "Hello, ladies…"

He shouldered past her and climbed the stairs to the altar. The knight rolled her eyes in disdain when she identified the cause for his attention deficit.

"Better gold lusting than dead, I suppose," Leo remarked wryly. "Shall we move on, then?"

Terra and the two Thamasans trailed after him without question, but Locke wasn't following. Celes eyed the thief warily as he sidled closer to one of the statues and gave it an experimental nudge. She drew breath to call for him, but the air stalled in her lungs when she caught sight of the otherworldly beasts filing into the shrine from both entrances. Relm yelped in alarm, while Strago and Leo protectively placed themselves between the girl and the closing ring of Espers. Terra had yet to snap out of her daze.

Celes turned back to the altar just as Locke was attempting to pick up the idol. She barked the thief's name and shook her head in warning when she finally wrested his attention from the golden relics. His eyes went wide and his face grew pale when he realized his error, and he slowly backed away from the statues.

They were surrounded by well over a dozen Espers now, their appearances ranging from ferocious wyrms and behemoths down to colorful pixies. One individual with the look of a bipedal mammoth stepped forward, and Celes watched in dismay as her companions assumed defensive stances.

So much for their peace mission, she thought bitterly.

Even Leo was gripping the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it at a moment's notice, but Celes knew they had bigger concerns.

Terra was beginning to glow.