The Treasure Hunters

by Casey Gilman

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A Reintroduction	The Figaro Brothers	The Treasure Hunters	Tales of the Thamasans
The Lone Ninja	The Adventures of Terra	Figaro, Vol. 2	Treasure, Vol. 2
Thamasans, Vol. 2	Ninja, Vol. 2	Terra, Vol. 2	Figaro, Vol. 3
Treasure, Vol. 3	Thamasans, Vol. 3	Ninja, Vol. 3	Terra, Vol. 3
Figaro, Vol. 4
The Final Chapters: Mechanical Magic
Magic, Vol. 1	Magic, Vol. 2	Magic, Vol. 3	Magic, Vol. 4
Magic, Vol. 5

Chasing Thieves

Locke and Celes were running through the desert, south of Kohlingen. They were approaching three men, who were responsible for kidnapping and old man.

"Look!" cried Celes,"They're going to kill the old man!"

Celes pulled out her newly-bought sword, and Locke drew his knife. They were charging toward the backs of the three men, and Celes was hoping that they would be surprised.

"Finish him off!" the thief with the black hair commanded,"We have some potion making to do!"

The thief with the knife pulled back the knife, and was about ready to jab it into the old man's chest, when he felt a sudden pain in the back of his right arm. Locke had just sliced through his skin, and blood was pouring out.

"AAARRRRRGGGGHH!!!" cried the thief dropping his knife.

The other two thieves spun around, and drew their knives.

"Hey!" cried the blonde one,"It's that thief Locke, and the ex-general Celes!"

"You're those goody-goodies who helped save the world!" declared the black haired one.

The wounded thief was on his knees, crying out in pain.

"Forget them!!" he shouted,"Pick up the old man, and we'll make tracks!!"

The black haired one threw his knife in the direction of Locke and Celes. They both moved out of the way to dodge it. The thieves were quick, and were making off with the old man. The heroic pair chased after them.

* * *

Makrahcken entered the great hall of his master. It was very dark, and he could hardly even see Kouse, who was on his left shoulder. He still had the golden sword in his right hand.

"You've been gone, Makrahcken," he could hear his master's voice from the darkness.

"Yes," replied the dark-clothed man,"I just returned now."

"Where have you been?" asked the voice in the darkness.

"Elsewhere," replied Makrahcken.

"Tell me!" cried his master.

This was the only person that Makrahcken was even the slightest bit afraid of. He also didn't feel like arguing, so he decided to explain where he had been.

"I was fetching this," Makrahcken held up the sword. Even in the darkness, it almost seemed to shine.

"I like it," replied his master,"I want it."

"No!" Makrahcken was becoming angry,"I found it, so it is mine!"

"Give it to me now, or forfeit your life!" cried the angry voice.

"Treasure! Shiny!" squawked Kouse.

Makrahcken hesitated, then handed over his prize.

"You have good taste," uttered his master,"Now, why were you out gallivanting around, when our master plan is in operation? You felt that you were worthy enough to be one of my main henchmen! I need you and the others ready when I want you!"

"Ready for what?!" responded Makrahcken,"I haven't been called upon to do anything since I enslaved that card shark! The reason I left, was because I was bored!"

"Bored! Bored!" squawked Kouse.

"Shut up!" cried the master,"I'm going to end your boredom! There is someone who has become very well-known, that can be of great help to us! I want you to kidnap him!"

* * *

"You're not going to get away with this!" cried Celes.

It had only taken a few seconds to catch up with the escaping thieves. The wounded one dropped to the sand, clutching his right arm. The other two dropped the old man, and turned around. The blonde one still had his knife, and he drew it.

"Give yourselves up now, before someone else gets hurt!" demanded Locke, who had his knife drawn. Celes had her sword ready, as well.

"Oh no! The big bad Returner is going to teach us a lesson!" the blonde one said, mockingly.

He swiftly jabbed Locke with his knife, slicing into his left cheek. Locke grabbed his face in pain. Celes reacted almost involuntarily, and slashed the blonde thief with her sword.

"YYYYYYEEEEEEEEEAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!" he cried out, for Celes had severed his left arm, at the shoulder. He dropped to the ground with his companion, who was no longer conscious. The sand was stained red.

The black-haired one had no weapons, and continued to stand there. Celes forgot about him, and turned to Locke.

"Are you okay?!" Celes didn't know how bad the wound was.

"Yeah," replied Locke, who was trying to stop the bleeding with his bandanna,"But never mind me! The other thief is getting away!"

Celes looked over, and saw that the remaining thief was very quickly making his way across the desert. He had the old man slung over his shoulder. Celes took a quick glance at the two on the ground, who were presumably dead from blood loss. Even after all her time fighting as a general, her stomach still turned at the sight of dead humans. She hoped she had done the right thing.

"Don't just stand there!" cried Locke, as he began to run off,"The sooner we stop him, the sooner we can start looking for the sword!"

They began to chase after him.

* * *

"Blast him!!" cried Makrahcken, who was in his own personal quarters,"I stole that sword fair and square! How dare he take it from me!"

He kicked over a small table, and it hit the brown, rocky floor. He sat down on the bed, which was on the far side of the small cavern. Kouse was on a small wooden perch, beside the bed.

"I don't believe this!" he was very angry,"Mark my words, Kouse, I will have that sword back!"

Then he remembered his master's orders, and began to calm down.

"The location of this man is unknown, but he is probably not on this continent. Our only ship is out, and flying is a lot faster than sailing. Kouse, I want you to fly oversees, and find this man. After you find him, carry him back here."

Kouse was a fairly large bird, and was fairly strong. He had managed to carry that woman, who they had fought in the cave, and Makrahcken doubted that this man was much heavier.

"Now let me explain who you're going to kidnap, and where you'll probably find him..." Makrahcken started.

* * *

It seemed like they had been running forever, but Locke and Celes were gaining on the thief. The chase had led them out of the desert, and into a mountain cave. The cave was very similar to the one the sword had been in, but Locke could tell that it wasn't the same one. This was more of a tunnel, that led south, perhaps the whole length of the mountain range. The cave entrance was very hard to spot, so the thief had probably been trying to hide.

"You really should give up," uttered the old man, who was still slung over the thieves shoulder.

"Why is that?" replied the thief.

"You will eventually get caught, especially with two of the world's greatest heroes on your tail."

"They don't seem so great to me!"

"Really? They have seriously wounded your two friends, yet you've hardly hurt either of them at all."

"I'm glad they got rid of those two! It means I won't have to split the profit three ways!"

He had made it to a section of the tunnel that was lit by torches.

"Who would've lit these?" wondered the thief.

"Intruders," a voice came from beyond the thief's range of sight,"give yourself up now."

Locke and Celes were finally catching up.

"That guy hasn't got a prayer," said Celes.

"There's light up ahead," said Locke,"I wonder why?"

They entered the section of the cavern that was lit by torches on the wall.

"Could that thief have done this?" asked Celes.

"More intruders," the same voice that had spoken to the thief was heard by Locke and Celes,"Give yourselves up now."

They saw two figures approach them. They were wearing gray and white robes. They were part of the Cult of Kefka.