The Return

by Nathan Bounds

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Chapter 1	Chapter 2	Chapters 3 - 7	Chapters 8 - 10
Chapters 11 - 12	Chapter 13	Chapters 14 - 16	Chapters 17 - 20
Chapters 21 - 22	Chapters 23 - 25	Chapters 26 - 28	Chapters 29 - 31

Chapter 23

Terra wheeled around to view the person who had encircled her and Cyan in fire.

She could hardly see through the fire, but the bright cape gave him away. "Kefka!" she gasped.

"Sharp as ever, I see. You shouldn't be sneaking around on other people's property. That's a no-no." Then Kefka screeched a horrible laugh as he always had when he cracked a particularly stupid joke.
Terra and Cyan just stood there, trying to figure out what to do.
Terra looked around for a solution to present itself. Could I go through the fire? she asked herself. Probably not, she answered. She looked at the fire and realized something. How much power would it take to keep a fire like this going using Magic? More than all the world can produce. Terra recalled something Kefka had said on the tower.

"I've tapped into the ultimate power. Observe!"

Kefka levitated pulled Shadow into the air at his left and held him there, suspended.

"Such magnificent power! You are like insects to me!" He pulled Terra into the air and suspended her on his right side.

The ultimate power...

"What is this power you've tapped into?" Terra asked Kefka.

"All you need to know is that it will destroy you." Kefka lifted his hands, and the last thing Cyan and Terra saw before the darkness came was a blinding flash of light.

Chapter 24

Clyde struggled against his binds. Ever since the once-dead Esper he had found had started glowing a couple of days ago, he had more aggressiveness. In addition, his shoulder had healed.

He kept pulling on the ropes. He pulled and pulled, but he couldn't get out.

Finally, Clyde relaxed in his chair, closed his eyes, and called out to the Esper.

Clyde felt heat around his wrists, and when the heat was gone, he was free.

He got up and searched for a weapon. He saw a bronze tube in the corner of the room. He picked it up and went to the door. It was locked.

Clyde backed up to where he had found the tube, and rushed forward. When he was within two feet of the door, he jumped into the air and stuck his leg out. His foot made contact, and his whole body crashed through the door. A guard saw him and yelled for him to stop.

Clyde ran at the guard and beat him with the tube until he fell. Clyde took his spear and ran down the stairs towards the ground level. Below, he could see a fire and a brightly clad man, but could not make the man out. He seemed familiar, though.

About halfway down the immense stairwell, Clyde began to hear a faint chopping noise. It sounded like an airship.

Clyde continued down the stairs. He looked into the dark sky for an airship. He still saw nothing.

He kept going. Finally, he got near the bottom. He looked for the brightly clad man and, through the fire, which contained Terra and Cyan, saw him. It was Kefka.

"All you need to know is that it will destroy you." Kefka lifted his hands, and then an explosion occured which could only have come from one of Setzer's H-Bombs. The fire around Terra and Cyan disapeared as they flew backwards through the air.

Clyde looked up and saw the airship. It was lowering to the ground. He saw Celes and Gogo get off.