Three Armies, One Destiny Three Armies, One Destiny
His Dark Lordship
The Dark Lord looked upon the massacre and groaned.
"I guess I owe Bacca one." he turned to the Lizarian troops manning the keep. "Men, the time has come."
A shaman nodded, and motioned to one of the braves. The brave led several others into a shed and they pulled out a gigantic horn. This they brought to the shaman, who pressed his tight lips against it and blew with all his might.
Across the ravine, the sound of the horn echoed. Snarling began loosing from the woods.
Upon the plain outside the castle, the Lizar arranged in formations. Out of the woods marched creatures, lead out by the meat set. Gigantic Tyranosaurs, who were decorated in cloth beads and warpaint, and howdahs upon each side, to which many lizar formed and stacked a pile of long arrows.
Smaller Tyranosaurs formed with Lizar mounted upon their backs for fast cavalry. Triceratops and Anklyosaurs formed live battering rams. Infantry formed of Lizar heavily armoured in boned plates and skull helmets, with great Iron Sickles extending off each arm, and their natural sickle like claws extending from their feet.
And the Dark Lord took his mount upon a great Tyranosaur, to which he held his own.
"Let's show them what we can do."
Shamans, mounted on the smaller Tyranosaurs, sounded their smaller horns and the charge was made. A scene of monsters roaring across the battlefield. The fleeing humans looked upon this site.
"Get the hell out of the way!" yelled the Dark Lord.
They humans did their best.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Mog mumbled a little magic and applied it to his crotch. He then turned to the attendants, Aeris, Tifa and Yuffie. Cid and Cloud were still out fighting.
"Geeze, that guy ain't that bad a fighter..."
A grunt was heard behind him.
"What the hell was that?" asked Mog, turning about.
"'Ey, fuzzy little runt. I be Drugga, da Klubba, leadah of da great Whaagh! I wuz wonderin' if I can borrow a lass."
"To hell with that. Find your own women." swore Mog.
"Dammit." grumbled Drugga. "Well, thars a beeg horde of Lizard Daemons commin' dis way, so ya know."
"Dark Lord, ya finally decided to fight, eh?" smiled Mog. "The sacrifice be golden."
* * * * * * * * * *
With Bacca pinned, the Orks began to head forward again. A couple catapults threw Squigs at the fighting humans, leaving only their legs behind as the live masses of teeth ate their torsos.
The Moogles, realizing a sudden advantage, decided to temporarily team with them. Bacca's troop fought hard, and took many a moogle, but they couldn't keep up with the numbers.
Just then, the Lizar host crashed into the force's side.
Giant war machine met giant war machine, and slaughter met slaughter. The Dark Lord left his mount to fight as he approached Jaana and Sephiroth.
"Need a hand?" he grumbled. "Where's Bacca?"
"I saw him go down earlier" yelped a soldier.
DL walked towards the host of orks. With Commanding words he told them to step back, he's not their enemy. This they obliged. He saw human arms struggling from under a hulking ork carcass. He tried to pull it off, with no avail. He muttered an incarnation and tried again. This time he pushed it off. Bacca was barely conscious.
"Dammit, Bacca, when I say stay in the keep I *mean* stay in the keep." he lifted Bacca up and threw him over his shoulder. The Orks were arranged around them, Drugga coming to the front.
"Dammit, Drugga, we got no women. Go home!" he yelled.
"'Ey! U attakked us!"
"The `high Lord of all that kicks ass' is gonna get his ass kicked when we get back to the keep. Listen, do NOT let the moogles get through the pass. I'll reward you later." He hiked off.
Drugga smiled.
"Chiks, moolah, weponz... I kan go wit dis." he turned to his troops. "WHACK DA SCRAWNY WHITE THINGS!!!!"
The lizarian horde withdrew as the orks turned in on the moogles. They formed a battle line to prevent escape.
All the lines were so exhausted, they withdrew in a matter of minutes. The moogles fled back to the mountains beyond the pass, the orks sat there and scratched themselves, the humans returned to the confines of the keep, and the lizar began to pack up their belongings.
Bacca was put into extreme quarantine for LP to address with.
DL was wishing his people good harvest of the treetops and bidding them farewell.
"Exactly where do they think they're going?" asked a curious druidess.
The Dark Lord sighed.
"The Shamans had word from the gods that there would be a great drought should the warriors overseas battle more than once. They return home to prevent such disasters." he shook his head. "I avoided fighting for this purpose. I felt we would need their strength in the final battle. And perhaps now I may not live to fight within it."
"Excuse me?" asked the Druidess.
The Dark Lord lifted his mail halberk, to reveal a gigantic gash across his chest.
"Ceremonial mark, added onto on a tribal war. The shamans were able to freeze the bleeding for awhile. But now, as I've taken hits of a grande, the bleeding starts again."
"Can't the Shamans freeze it again?"
"I've spoken with them. They've applied herbs and spices and a slew of other things. There is nothing they can do. My heart doth leak."
"What about the Lady?"
"She knows little about our anatomy, nor do the potions at her disposal have medicinal effects upon our bodies. We are off your species by a hundred million years, you must realize." the dark lord closed his eyes and sighed, and an ample eyed might have spotted a tear forming around the scaled eyelid. "Mog, Myself, and your people.. We are all fighting against defeat, and the
winner will be whomever yields to it last. In the end, it all will die, proteins for the next generation of heroes. My people leave to prevent this, to their minds should anyone fall will lead to disaster. They refuse to contribute to the cataclysm."
The druidess looks somewhat perplexed.
"People fight amongst the stars, for materia and power. But they realize not that the materia will matter little. Mog owns the world. We fight for survival. I help you out of kindness. The Dark Moogle and the Northern Paladin fight for power. While they are determined to win through power, we fight the actual battles here. We die while they fight above. We bleed while they
vaporize." he sighed. "But, as I said before, the chaos will build on for the start of a world of difference. Perhaps treaty can be achieved."
"What your people don't realize, Kaitlin, is that there is more involved here than their lives. Mog has achieved his mutations by the same dark gods I have made amends with. We ourselves are linked by Soul, and I assume Drugga is involved in this as well. I will die, and the dark gods link with mankind will diminish, as I held the sole link, with human thoughts and lizar customs. The moogles will continue to invade, and eventually you will be crushed, or perhaps Drugga's raids on both borders will weaken the moogles enough for Bacca to crush them. But should that happen, the Gods will be enraged that their creations were destroyed. Drugga will leave, and your people will be faced with something not even Bacca can stand up to. An army is defeatable, but you cannot fight a cataclysm."
He sighed.
"Cometh. I have much to do before I die."
Sky H Ainsworth
As the moogle army engaged their new enemy, the orcs, the main heroes retreated back to the Dark Lord's keep.
Bacca, beaten, bloody, and unconscious, lay over the neck of the Dark Lord's Tyranosaurus. Lady Paladin was carried on a triceratops. Jaana, Sephiroth, Ku-Sam, Tojo Mojo, and Kaitlin remained behind at the battle. (I think. I don't know what you guys are doing really, sorry.)
Lady Paladin looked over at her warrior.
"How is he?" asked the healer.
"He is fine, just very tired and asleep," said the Dark Lord. "I am surprised he is not dead."
"I cast Life3 on him before he dueled Mog," said Lady. "He was smart for telling me to do that."
"Yeah, he is smart... in some respects."
"And what is that to mean?" inquired Lady.
"I told him to stay at the keep and rally the defense there," said DL. "He left his post and went on his own private campaign."
"But DL, Bacca told me that best way to defend the keep was to keep the moogles out of the valley," said Lady, her eyes staring hard at the Lizar. "That makes sense. If the moogles are in that little pass, they can be held back. AND he saved the lives of those soldiers so that they
could fight another day."
"Look!" exclaimed Dark Lord. "Because of this warrior, I am now certain to die. It was not my intention to do anything at the pass. I knew the orcs would be moving through there and encounter the moogles and I was very certain they would battle. The humans being there was a mistake and I should have had more control over that.
"Bacca both helped us and hindered us today. I just hope that he can keep everything together long enough so that we can make it."
The DL was silent. Lady did not press the issue.
Entering the keep, DL dismounted and attendants took Bacca away to his room. Lady began to follow after the warrior.
"Where are you going?" asked DL.
"I am going to help Bacca recover," said Lady. "He needs it."
"Bacca is fine and can wait," said DL. "These human soldiers need your aid now more then that warrior does. My lizars cannot heal them as well as you can."
Lady was about to protest, but stopped as she took a quick look around the courtyard. Wounded soldiers lay everywhere. Comrades tried to comfort where they could, but it was obvious that there were not enough healers among all of them to do the job. Lady decided that DL was right.
"Very well, Dark Lord," said the healer. "You had just better hope nothing seriously wrong happened to Bacca."
DL grunted, then turned to his duties.
Lady Paladin
She turns to help the injured soldiers, her face like a stone mask. The healer had tied her cloak about her waist to hide her wounded leg, knowing that if the rest knew how seriously her leg was cut, she would not be allowed to continue. There was too much to be done for her to waste time in healing herself. The full tonic that Jaana had given her had not been drunken completely...the tonic has been put into a new bottle and passed on to a soldier in greater need than herself.
"Thank you, Lady."
"You saved my friends, good woman, I am in debt to you."
"A lady such as you should be sainted for sparing time on a mere soldier such as I."
"Your sword stopped that orc from cutting me down just in time, lady."
The compliments and chatter were like a fog around her, clouding her senses. Her wounded mind and body kept lingering on Bacca's lips pressed against hers...that thought alone propelled her forward. Lady Paladin fingers tugged and bound bandages by an instinct all their own; her conscious senses seemed to get further and further from her grasp. She continued casting cures, hour after hour, ignoring her own injuries and mental fatigue.
Finally, just as the sun set and the moon rose, it happened. After casting a complex Cure3 on an amputated young soldier, she blinked once. Twice. Her head seemed clear of the fog that has pressed against her brain for the past 5 hours. She smiled at the soldier. She smiled at the acolytes, reciting last rites over the dead and dying. And then she smiled at the thought of Bacca, his body pressed against her in a tender kiss. Her eyes closed, remembering that intimacy. Lady Paladin then fell forward in a crumpled heap upon the ground, causing the grateful soldiers to cry out in alarm.
The healer had cast too many spells and lost too much blood...she was in a coma.
Sky H Ainsworth
Bacca awoke with a start. Something loud had disturbed his much deserved sleep.
Looking around, Bacca realized that he was in the keep. Lying on his bed with his equipment still on, Bacca made a soft oath at the care the lizars gave the humans.
Bacca's wounds were bandaged, barely, but the bleeding had stopped. He was weak and had to rest.
"Is anyone there?!" Bacca called out. His room was dimly lit, a single candle for the room.
A soldier opened the door and poked his head in. "Sir?"
Bacca was a little surprised. The human soldiers must really be taking a liking to me, thought Bacca.
"What has happened?" asked Bacca feebly.
The soldier smiled. He took a step in and stood before Bacca and gave his report.
"After you ensured our retreat, most of the soldiers returned here. Others stayed behind to help you. When your duel with Mog was interrupted by the orcs, and we saw you go down, we fought for your body. The orcs were too tough, though, and we too weak. It took the Dark Lord and his reptilian army to come to your rescue. We then brought you back here to the keep."
"Do we hold the pass?" demanded Bacca weakly.
The soldier thought a moment, unsure of what to tell the warrior.
"It holds, sir," replied the soldier. "The lady, Jaana, General Tojo Mojo, and others are there currently. The orcs are our allies and fighting the moogles."
"What?" asked Bacca, his brow furrowing. "Ah, screw it. I don't want to know. Continue."
"And the last I know, the Lady Paladin has been in the courtyard, healing the wounded." A man rushed behind the soldier down the hallway. Turning to that man, the soldier called after. "Hey, what has happened outside? I heard a cry."
"The Lady Paladin has fallen and is unconscious," yelled the soldier. "No one can wake her. We fear the worst. I am searching for another healer."
Bacca's eyes widened. "What?! Damn. Bring her here. I will take care of her."
The soldier saluted and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind himself.
Bacca forced himself to sit up. Groaning and exhausted, Bacca unfastened his sword belt and unslung his pack. He took off his cape and boots and greaves. He did what he could for the wounds on his body.
The door opened and several soldiers entered, carrying a body in a large blanket.
"Place her on the bed here," said Bacca. The soldiers brought her over and set her down. "Light a few more candles. Get me some water and bring some food in. After that, everyone leave."
The soldiers set about their business, but Bacca only paid attention to Lady. She was pale and dirty. Bacca examined her leg injury and cursed himself for not being there to protect her.
When the soldiers finished in the room, they stood at attention, waiting for Bacca's next command.
"Set up camp inside the keep walls, inside the new portion that the Dark Lord added," said Bacca. "Move those injured there who can be moved, but leave the seriously injured in the courtyard. Rest and recover. You men did well today."
The men smiled.
"I do not want to be disturbed unless an emergency. Dismissed."
The soldiers turned and left the room.
All alone with the paladin, Bacca took her hand in his and held it.
"Why?" Bacca asked of the unconscious figure.
Reaching down with his hands, Bacca undid Lady Paladin's cloak and belt. He unfastened her robes and pulled off her boots. He then removed her pants and other garments till she lay before him in her under clothes. Applying what few medicines he found left in the healer's pouches, Bacca then applied a bandage to her leg.
Sitting back, Bacca reached into his own pack and pulled out a small bundle of cloth. Unrolling it, Bacca exposed some red feathers. He placed these on the next and chest of the paladin. After a while, the feathers began to glow and were absorbed into her body.
Coughing, Lady awoke. She lay on the bed and looked around, adjusting to the dimness of the room.
Bacca pulled off his chain mail shirt and his pants and lay down next to Lady. He kissed her forehead and she stared at him with her eyes
"Rest, my sweet," Bacca whispered to her. "Sleep. I am here."
Bacca, himself tired and ready to pass out, lay down beside the paladin and took her in his arms. Wrapping a blanket over himself and Lady, the two slept.
Lady Paladin
Lady Paladin groggily awoke from her deep sleep, and lay there with her eyes closed. She felt completely warm and secure. The blanket seemed tucked around her just right. She vaguely recalled that at some point she had been incredibly cold, but now she was warm. Cozy. She felt herself smile. The healer knew that she had to be home.
Hesitantly, she opened her eyelids, expecting to see the gorgeous view of the forest and gardens from her cottage. Her eyes were still heavy with sleep, so she blinked to clear them. Lady Paladin did not see the garden before her eyes. Instead, she saw Bacca's eyes gazing into hers, warm and content.
"I was wondering when you would wake up again, Lady," the warrior said with a tired smile. "I've been laying here for the past few hours afraid to move in case I should accidentally wake you. You held me so tightly the whole time, I couldn't budge."
She blushed an intense red. "How, how long have I been out?" she asked hoarsely. The faint memories returned to her of the battle at Spiked Dwarf Pass, overcasting herself, and then feathers lightly tickling her skin.
Bacca turned his back to her, pouring a glass of water into a mug. "My guess is that it's been almost a solid day we both slept through. You collapsed at sunset, and I woke occasionally to see the sun shine through the window. Now it's night again."
Lady Paladin barely listened to what he said, instead staring at the scars along his back. "What incompetent healer attended to him after these wounds?" she thought angrily. "I take care to never leave scars this badly." Without thinking, she lightly touched her fingertips to his back
and frowned in concern.
The warrior flinched under her touch, and she jerked her hand back and clutched it against her as though she had touched a flame. "Sorry," she murmured under her breath, blushing again.
He turned back over and handed the mug to her. "It's okay, Lady, it didn't hurt. It just..surprised me." He smiled soothingly at her. She gave him a shaky smile back. Bacca stood and began dressing.
Taking a sip of the water, she tried to gather her wits but found them errant. Her thoughts traveled back to her sleep and the dreams that had plagued her, especially the dream of the light calling her true name. A name she thought she had forgotten completely, and had forgotten once again as soon as she opened her eyes. Lady Paladin brought her mind back to the present when she realized Bacca was speaking to her.
"...look around the fortress to see what is going on. Since I ordered that we not be disturbed, I have no idea what happened in the past day. I can't help but wonder how Jaana, Sephiroth, and Kaitlin are -- I haven't seen them since the middle of the battle." Bacca winced at the memory.
"If the memory pains you, don't think about it," said the Lady with a smile. She then propped her body up with her hands, and attempted to swing her legs out from under the cover and onto the floor. A yelp came from her mouth as the pain from her stiff, recovering thigh jarred her entire body. She found herself flat on the bed, gripping the covers with pale knuckles.
Bacca was at her side in an instant. "What did you expect since you had no one heal your wound immediately?" he accused, but his face was worried. "I did what I could to cure your leg, but you'll have to take it easy for the next few days as it mends. You'll probably have a slight scar running up your thigh."
A scar. Like Bacca's. He obviously had some basic healing skills and typically used them on himself. He definitely needed a personal healer from now on, and Lady Paladin concluded the duty would be hers. "I don't mind the scar that much. I have other scars already," she said flippantly. "I never wear a skirt that short, anyway. I always dress very modestly...." The healer remembered something. She forced her head up to look at herself, and her suspicions were confirmed. No wonder she felt cold after pushing herself out from under the covers.
He followed along her train of thought. "I know you're modest, my dear Lady." He smiled his wonderful, bright smile. "But a woman as beautiful as you shouldn't hide beneath quite so many layers of clothing. You have nothing to be ashamed of."
Lady Paladin blushed and mumbled something incoherent under her breath in a foreign tongue.
Bacca thought back to when Dark Lord teleported them to Mysidia. Smiling, he continued, "I'll go around the keep and see what has happened as we slept. Last I heard, something had happened to Dark Lord, but it was rather hush-hush. I also need to check up on the others and then on the troops." He smiled down at her tenderly, and bent to kiss her cheek. She simply looked at him, her eyes filled with adoration. "You dress yourself, carefully, and then go around the fortress. Use caution on the stairs. You'll have a few hundred soldiers ready to wait on you hand and foot, don't forget."
"I'd rather have you wait on me hand and foot," she murmured under her breath, her eyes concentrating on the stone floor.
Bacca had been walking away, but paused. He smiled to himself, and felt his heart beat thud in his chest. "All you have to do is ask, my Lady," he said over his shoulder. Part of him wished more than anything to stay with her, but he knew he had duties to attend to. The warrior regretfully left his chamber.
Lady Paladin stared at the door after he left. "I wish you didn't have to go so quickly, my Bacca." She sighed. The healer noted how she had called Bacca hers, and smiled sadly. "What a fool I am. I can take on ten orcs at once, but now all I can do is blush and stare at the floor in Bacca's presence." Her shoulders slumped, and she slowly began clothing herself.
Sky H Ainsworth
As Bacca made his rounds, he found himself in a corridor and decided to stop and rest his sore leg.
Standing in the middle of the hallway, Bacca looked down his hands. They were scabbed up from all the little nicks and cuts he had received in the battle.
Holding his hands palms down and parallel to the floor, Bacca took notice of the veins which protruded along the backs of his hands. He then realized that his fingers were shaking. He was trying to keep his hands still, but they would not cooperate.
Clenching his fists, Bacca let his hands drop and closed his eyes. In the darkness, he saw shadows flying towards him, murderous intent evident in their being. Bacca opened his eyes.
Before he had been standing in the middle of the hallway, now he was backed up against the wall, clinging to it as if he was trying to escape something.
"This is not good," muttered Bacca.
He continued walking and doing his rounds and ran across Lady Paladin with a group of soldiers. She was examining one of the soldiers arms, a bandage hanging from it loose. With deft fingers, the healer probed the tissue above and below the injury.
Seeing Bacca approach, Lady gave the soldiers some instructions and bandaged the wound. She then straightened up and faced the warrior.
"How do you feel, my lady?" asked Bacca, smiling softly.
"Other then a little stiff and sore, I am very well, thank you," replied the paladin.
"Lady Paladin, I was wondering if you and I might take a walk together?"
"Sure, I would love to," said Lady. "It will give me time to rest my mind and hands from my work." She smiled at Bacca, matching his grin.
Bacca led Lady to a tower and the two climbed the stairs to the ramparts of the keep. There, the two could stroll and chat, keeping quiet as the few sentries walked past.
"My lady," began Bacca, "I hope I was not too forward in bringing you to my quarters and having you sleep in my bed. It is just that you did so much for me and hearing what had happened to you, I could not let you disappear somewhere and not know what was happening to you. Also, since you had healed me, I felt it my duty to heal you."
"Thank you," said Lady Paladin, smiling at the brown-haired warrior. As the two walked, Lady took notice that Bacca was taller then her, not by much, but the bulk of the warrior certainly made him look large compared to her frame. "I was glad that you took me in and cared for me. Also, I felt the need to be with someone, to feel secured, and you gave that to me."
Bacca was silent for a moment.
"I felt the same way," said the fighter. "When I awoke in my bed, I felt cold, lonely, afraid. I wanted someone there." Bacca paused. "Lady, I think something is wrong with me."
Lady looked at the warrior, concern in her face. Bacca continued, hesitantly.
"When I close my eyes, all I can see is images rushing towards, preparing to kill me..... My hands, they shake. I can not even draw my swords, I am afraid of dropping them." Bacca was silent again.
Lady Paladin took Bacca's hand and held it in hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She was about to see what she could do for Bacca's condition when a messenger ran up to them.
"What is it?" asked Bacca.
"Sir, an army is approaching," said the messenger. The messenger indicated the direction and a dust trail could be seen in the distance.
"What can you tell me of the army?"
"Well, sir, they all look alike and seem pretty well trained," answered the page.
Bacca snapped his fingers and broke out into a huge smile.
"The army of Lance Henriksens," said Bacca. "Yes. They will prove a great help in the time to come. Lady, I must go now. I hope that we may have dinner tonight if that is okay."
It took a moment for Lady to catch up. "Why sure. I would like that very much."
Bacca squeezed her hand one last time and then hurried off.
Lady Paladin was not comfortable with what was happening now.
His Dark Lordship
The Dark Lord spoke with Jaana, Kaitlin and Sephiroth..
"My scouts' last run around the ravine have revealed the orks and the moogles having gone their separate ways. The orks are simply looking for a good time, while Mog has grand Hatred for us." he turned. "I will perform a ritual to protect you in the hours to come."
He turned and left.
In a secluded room, the Dark Lord and the remaining shamans stood over and old firepit. Between them stood a great bonfire. The Dark Lord nodded and began the ritual. He took a serpentine knife and sliced his cheek, and threw the droplets of blood into the flame. It sizzled. The shamans did the same. Upon this note, the dark lord bowed towards the flame. The shamans did the same, and the flame turned into the shape of a great tyrant.
"(Who is he, that performs the test of self sacrifice, to invoke myself.)" the apparition bellows.
"(I, Tk'kr'ka. I ask of you to protect my.. friends.)" spoke the dark lord.
"(Ah, ye returns to your olde gods whence the dark ones take the opposing side... Ye hath retained thy promise, and thy people return to the ancient shores bedecked with fish and reptiles that were replaced by whales the world over, and monstrous descendants of myself patrol the north, following the herds, and where descendents of the rodents, in their greatest feline pose, travel in prides and hunt the great Gyre... Ye hast remained faithful, whilst most that endeth their worship betray their gods. But ye....)"
The apparition flicked a moment, then continued.
"(Ye shall cometh to me to await thy return, and I shall guard thy friends with the utmost pride. Thee hast proven thyself and earned thy glee of eternity...)"
The apparition flickers, then returns to the flames it was...
* * * * * * * * *
The druidess Kaitlin stands, watching the beautiful waterfall outside the dark lord's keep, flowing into a fast river that sailed to the sea bethrough an underground cavern. It seems, in light of the suffering borne by the civilized races, the planet ignores these inflicted scars and focuses on the other 99.999999999999% of life.
The scaled claws tapped her shoulder. She turned.
The Dark Lord was already showing signs of the fate awaiting him. His skin was growing a darker green, and getting harder and even was growing small horns.
"Age comes fast whence thou loses thy need for existence." he spoke coarsely. "I must leave. The shamans will bury me in the mountains I've loved for these years alone, and will take their leave. And, alas, ye shall be on thy own."
The obsidian amulet he always wore sparkled in the moonlight. He placed his clawed hand upon is and tore it from his neck, and handed it to the druidess.
"This will protect you from the advances of Mog, and others. None will be able to gaze straightly at you unless ye should wish them too, and it will give you the speed and strength of my people."
With that, he gave her a slight touch on the druidess cheek with his tounge.(about as close of a kiss he can make)
"So long."
He and the shamans vanished into the woods. The Dark Lord pass on to the hall of Tk'kr'ka and his body was mummified with the gems and fantastic treasures kept in the dark lord's vault. And he was buried by the waterfall top, with an oak sapling on his breast.
* * * * * * * *
Mog suddenly started up in bed.
"What's wrong?" asked Tifa from one side of him.
"He's gone... my long time adversary is gone... I felt his presence in this world vanish... and I heard him speak."
"What'd the bastard say?" groaned Cid.
"He laughed. He said I would have the world.. but I would not take it with me..."