Mechanical Magic

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

Conflict...

The battle with Krugg had been fairly repetitive, so far. The four of them would hit his midsection, then he would knock them away. Unfortunately, the four Returners were getting worn out. Fortunately, Krugg seemed to be weakening. He looked like a pincushion, with all the arrows and blades stuck into him, and he was bleeding badly.

"Let's finish this," said Edgar, who was standing up, as were the rest of them.

Krugg looked at them, and for the first time, Terra could see fear in his eyes. All four of them charged at him, simultaneously, prepared to make the final blow.

"Farewell," Makrahcken said, as he swung his sword down, to stab Locke.

Just as these two events were about to happen, a whole group of lightning bolts, almost like an electric web, flew through the air, knocking everyone to the ground.

"You two have had your fun," Definnius was hovering above them all,"Now I'm going to have my fun!"

* * *

"U'GAAAHHHHH!" Umaro threw a cult member into another one, knocking them both to the ground. Strago beat one over the head with a wooden staff, and Gogo, who had no staff, beat one over the head with his/her right arm. Mog was swinging at the enemy, and jabbing them left and right with his spear. Relm was doing pretty good with her spear, for a beginner.

"We are doing good!" Strago commended them.

"But not good enough, kupo!" Mog declared,"There's a lot!"

"Not too many for us!" Relm was optimistic.

'GRAAAHHH!!!" Umaro seemed anxious, as he pointed to his left, which was where Zozo was.

The rest of the Returners looked up at the sky, and saw a black ball blast through the air. It flew over their heads, and landed to their right. When it hit the ground, the explosion it created sent rocks and dirt into the air, knocking most of the cult members, and the Returners over. A new crater remained where the ball hit.

"Oh dear," mumbled Strago, as he got back on his feet.

* * *

"Look," Sabin whispered to his companions, who were north of the battle sight,"I knew there had to be another entrance."

Indeed there was another hidden entrance to the base inside of Mount Zozo, and the surrounding mountains. It was kind of out of the way, and hard to see, but luckily, they had stumbled upon it. There were four cult guards in front of it.

"What do we do about them?" asked Cyan.

"Leave that to me, and my Blitzes," answered Sabin, as he rushed up to the guards.

"What the-" was all that one of the guards could say, as a blizzard of fists hit them all in the faces. Seeing that there were no more in sight, Sabin motioned for the others to join him.

"I thought your Blitz techniques were magical," said Cyan.

"It's not normal magic," replied Sabin,"It's a power that comes from the very soul of an experienced martial artist."

"I still know my Sword Techniques," remarked Cyan,"They must be similar, somehow."

"We go now," Gau seemed impatient.

"Right," replied Sabin,"Let's take their uniforms, and put them on."

Soon, Cyan, Sabin, and Shadow all looked like they belonged to the Cult of Kefka. Gau, however, didn't look right.

"Gau too small," declared the wild child.

The uniform looked more like a gray and white blanket, that was draped over him.

"Hmmmmm," Sabin said,"I have an idea! Take that off, and stand on top of Interceptor."

Though a little misshapen, the uniform seemed to fit the two of them together.

"Are you sure this will look right?" asked Cyan.

"It's the best I can think of," replied Sabin,"Let's go!"

They entered the cavern, with Gau tipping back and forth on Interceptor's back. There were few guards in this part of the complex, so they had little trouble getting into its vast interior. As they made their way south, they saw more people.

"We must be getting close to Mount Zozo, itself," Sabin whispered to his companions.

Two cult members where walking down the same corridor towards the small group of Returners. The two of them stopped, as they approached the Returners, and stared at Gau and Interceptor.

"Is there something wrong?" asked one guard,"You seem to be weaving and tipping a lot."

"Gau okay," answered Gau, under the hood.

"Excuse me?" wondered the guard.

"He got hit on the head," Sabin said.

"How?" asked the second cult member.

"A boulder hit him," Cyan answered.

"I didn't know boulders could fall in here," declared the first guard.

Interceptor barked.

"What's that noise coming from your feet?" asked the first guard.

"He was scraping them on the ground," answered Sabin, who began to scrape his foot, trying to copy the noise.

"Why can't he answer for himself?" wondered the second guard.

"He got hit on the head, remember?" answered Sabin.

"Then he would probably be more comfortable with his hood off," suggested the first guard.

He reached over, and grabbed onto the hood, about to rip it off.

"RETURNERS!!!" Cyan blurted out, pointing behind the two guards.

The two guards whirled around, and drew their weapons.

"Where?!" asked the second one, who saw no one else.

"Behind you!" shouted Sabin, as he, and Cyan knocked both of them out.

"That was close," uttered Sabin.

* * *

Locke jumped out of the way, as a giant chunk of ice flew down at him. The boulder-sized chunk rolled down the ledge, barely missing the other four Returners. Makrahcken and Krugg had long since fled the scene. The giant chunk slammed into the Falcon, but didn't cause any serious damage.

"I must thank you, Edgar!" Definnius cried from the air,"You've helped me build a great invention!"

Edgar scowled, as he shot five arrows up at the mad man. The arrows turned red hot as they approached him, and melted into nothing.

"Nice try!" shouted Definnius, as he showered them with meteors. One of them slammed into Locke, knocking him off the ledge. He rolled back down, landing beside his companions.

"Ouch," said Locke as he stood up.

"This is hopeless," declared Edgar.

"Let's fight him in the air!" suggested Terra.

"I don't want the Falcon to get wrecked again!" yelled Setzer.

"We don't have any choice!" Celes told him,"Come on!"

"Okay," replied Setzer,"I like a girl who knows when to tell me what to do!'

Locke gave him a dirty look, as they headed for the Falcon. Suddenly, the ground shook violently, knocking everyone over.

"Sorry!" shouted Definnius,"I like you right where you are! Actually, maybe I can think of a suitable place to put you!"

His wristbands glowed, and the five Returners found themselves in cocoons of energy. They all tried to break out of their cocoons, but they seemed invulnerable to all physical attacks.

"These little pods should do well, for the moment!" a power-mad Definnius exclaimed.

The cocoons began to rise into the air, and then they stopped. Definnius looked down at the battlefield below him.

"I think your friends down there might like to join us!" he cried.

* * *

Down below, craters were forming left and right from Ovid's bazooka. He managed to blow up a few cult members, but he hadn't been able to hit Mog and the others.

"This is hopeless!" shouted Strago.

"Stop!" Definnius commanded Ovid from above,"These five are mine!"

Ovid stopped firing, as the five Returners found themselves in cocoons of energy. Definnius lifted them into the air, and put them with Edgar and the others.

"We're going to be prisoners, again!" shouted Relm.

"No," replied Definnius,"I don't need to keep you prisoner anymore!"

Followed by the cocoons, Definnius floated down to the opening in the mountain, where he first exited. He walked in, with the ten cocoons floating behind him.

* * *

"Where the heck is that thing?" Sabin whispered to the others.

"This looks familiar," said Shadow,"I think I came through here, when I rescued you."

"Do you know where the generator is?" asked Cyan.

"No," answered Shadow.

"Look," said Sabin, pointing to a thick metal door.

"It looks like a door," declared Cyan.

Sabin pulled it open, and in the center of the room before him, was the Mechanical Magic Generator.

"That has to be it!" cried Sabin. There weren't too many guards around, because the majority of the cult was out fighting.

Sabin saw many doors surrounding the circular room, as he and the others approached the machine.

"I cannot help you much," said Cyan,"I am not very good with mechanical things."

"It's hot," Sabin remarked, as he put his hands near it,"And it seems to be hotter close to that sphere."

"It has a red glow to it," declared Cyan.

"Gau help!" exclaimed Gau, who had gotten out of his uniform. He walked over to the controls, which were in front. They had entered from the left side of the room.

"Wait," Sabin stopped him,"Let's look this over first."

Cyan, Shadow, and Interceptor joined them at the controls. They all removed their cult disguises. No one noticed the eleven figures who were entering behind them. Sabin saw a metal lever that had the word "off" carved into it.

"It actually says "off"!" cried Sabin,"Talk about easy!"

Just as he went to pull it, all five of them felt themselves being pulled back by an unknown force. When they stopped, they found themselves with the other Returners, still in cocoons. Also with them was Definnius.

"Sorry," said Definnius,"I can't let you do that!"

His headband glowed, and the only two open doors closed. Definnius approached the generator, and floated in the air in front of it. He turned around, and faced his prisoners.

"I'm glad I could get all of you in this room together!" Definnius began,"Before you, is the Mechanical Magic Generator! I wanted all of you to see what will ultimately cause your destruction!"

All fifteen of them were silent. Some were awestruck, and others didn't want to say that anything belonging to Definnius was impressive.

"Nothing to say?" Definnius was a little surprised,"Edgar? Strago? Aren't you impressed by what your minds helped to create?"

"Just because I helped to make it, doesn't mean it's good," declared Edgar.

"Oh well!" replied Definnius,"You see that sphere? All of the power that flows through me, first passed through that. That's why it gets so hot, and that's why it has a red glow. With that in mind, I intend to see how long it takes for it to cook your bodies! Ha! Ha!"

Definnius lifted them all into the air, and began to move them toward the giant sphere. They were moving slowly, either because they were heavy or because Definnius liked suspense, was unknown. They all saw their reflections, tinted red, for what would probably be the last time ever.

'I can't bear to think of what will happen to all the children, and the rest of the world," thought Terra.

'To think that I helped create that thing,' thought Strago.

'Let me get my hands on him!' thought Sabin.

They got closer, and closer. They were ten feet away, then five feet, then three feet, then two feet, then only one foot away, then an alarm sounded, and they stopped.

"Huh?" Definnius mumbled, as he floated down to the control panel,"No, it's over-heating! THIS CAN'T HAPPEN!!!"

The fifteen Returners dropped to the floor, and began to back away in separate directions. Definnius dropped to the ground as well. Steam was pouring out of the machine. The alarm got louder, and a red light on the generator began to flash.

"Not even I had thought of this!" cried Edgar, over the alarm, and hissing steam,"If the generator isn't turned off regularly, it will over-heat, and probably explode!"

"How long before it blows?" asked Locke.

"No more than five minutes!" replied Edgar.

There was an explosion on the side of the column, and a bolt of energy blasted out. Mog, Gogo, and Umaro were all standing near each other, and they all got hit by the blast of energy. There was a flash, and then all that remained was some white fur.

"They're...they're...gone!" cried Terra, who couldn't believe it.

"YOU MURDERER!" cried Sabin.

"We have to get out of here!" shouted Edgar,"There's going to be a much bigger explosion!"

A second explosion occurred, sending much of the rocky ceiling down on top of them. They all scattered in separate directions and exited through separate doors.