Terra

by Nona Mae King

  "It would have been nice if you'd let us on to it before challenging him in our name, my friend," Setzer told him. "There are still a few women I've yet to make love to."

  Locke actually smiled. "Hey Setzer, I'm not exactly in a big rush to check out either, you know. Celes would kill me if I missed our wedding."

  Edgar continued to regard Shadow as he examined the foreign technology in the room, and he didn't like the look in ninja's eyes. When the ninja paused in the far corner, Edgar left Setzer and Locke to their jovial discussion and followed him. "Shadow, is this techno-mage responsible for the kidnapping of Terra's children and her own strange behavior? Or even of that purplescent glow we saw on the roof?"

  Shadow ceased his examination of some strange wires to meet Edgar's gaze. "Ledo is capable of much. He seeks power and will do all possible to receive what he desires."

  Edgar knelt, continuing to hold the ninja's gaze. "But Terra and her children? Why?"

  "We have not actually seen proof of the children's disappearance," Shadow reminded, "and Terra was much feared and hated by the Empire. He who controls her, controls much power."

  "The Empire no longer exists and her power left her with the disappearance of magic," Edgar reminded.

  "These wires lead upstairs," Shadow observed as he stood.

  "Then let's go." Edgar returned to the others and tried to keep thoughts of Terra well hidden.

  5: Secrets, Answers, and Revelations

  Terra cowered in the corner of a dingy room. Her nose burned at the stench as she dropped her head between her knees, and her arms tightened around them as she stifled the sobs. Memories hit her like bombs of light. Memories buried a long time ago. Terra felt herself slipping beneath them. Losing her identity in the bombardment of images from her time with the Empire.

  Droning tones of people telling her how to make every blow count.

  Mysterious voices filled with hate, accusing her of murder and acts too numbing to remember even now.

  Times on the battlefield defeating yet another hopeless cause.

  Thousands mutilated and tortured at the simple request of a madman.

  The charred bodies and spilled blood of innocent soldiers, killed by her hand.

  Screaming children crying in the darkness of her mind. For their parents long dead. For their homes long since burned.

  But the memory that hurt the most was the one of Edgar.

  "What is wrong with you," he'd snarled, and his eyes had been so angry.

  But why wouldn't he listen to me? Why did he keep accusing me of things I didn't do? She'd desperately tried to hold back the tears, but she hadn't been that strong. They had come, and Edgar had launched a fresh attack. "No more 'Terra what's wrong?' No more 'Terra, don't cry.' Stop expecting me to baby you all the time," he'd yelled. And he'd said so many things while the others had just stared at her, as if they agreed. What went wrong? What happened to the Edgar I knew before. . . Her thoughts stopped amidst the sobs.

  Her friends no longer cared.

  Her kids were gone.

  And Edgar. . .

  She moaned as the pain began again. Throbbing. Streaks of fire and ice. Bright light. Voices. Pain. Terra gripped her head in her hands and screamed; her lungs and throat burned with the intensity of it. Even the crumbling walls seemed to shake with the vibration of the agony.

  "Stop! Stop!"

  Terra screeched but the pain went on, growing in fury as she attempted to fight it. The voices didn't stop. The volume grew and Terra fell to her side, tucking her knees to her chin as her hands tightened their grip on her head. Voices. Whispers. Screams. Laughter. . . Terra screeched and screamed until her throat was raw and bloody.

  And she blacked out.

  ~~~

  Edgar looked up sharply, his eyes narrowing. "What on earth is that?"

  Locke and Setzer exchanged a glance, but Shadow examined Edgar's face.

  "What's what?" Locke asked. "I don't hear anything."

  Still intensely listening, Edgar suddenly paled. "It's Terra," He turned to the others, his eyes black with desperation. "We have to find her," Edgar insisted. "They're torturing her!"

  "What?" Locke listened again. "I don't hear anything, Edgar!"

  "You can't hear that?" Edgar gestured wildly at the ascending stairs behind him. "Locke, she's screeching loud enough to wake the dead!"

  "No I can't hear it," Locke said again. "Where's it coming from?"

  Edgar's complexion grew almost green as he looked around the building. "I don't know. . . It's all around--" Edgar broke off, and his eyes glossed over with terror. "It stopped."

  Locke cringed. "I hope she's okay."

  "What now?" Setzer asked softly.

  Shadow stepped forward then. His gloved hand rested on the massive head of the beast he called Interceptor. The dog's black hair bristled, and the growl that rumbled deep in his chest was threatening.

  "Interceptor has found something."

  "Don't stand there, man," Edgar said harshly. He gestured at the stairs behind him. "Where is she?"

  "There is a trail leading out of Zozo--"

  "No," Edgar cut in. "I heard Terra here. In Zozo. I will not leave to wander after some mysterious trail!"

  "Edgar," Locke reasoned with hands outstretched, "we don't know that she's even still here. We can't search each building hoping we'll trip onto something. This is the best lead we've had all day!"

  Edgar strode up to Locke with such a look of rage on his face that Locke actually took a step back. The treasure hunter, in all the years he had known King Edgar of Figaro, had never seen him like this. Well I'll be, he thought suddenly, he really does love her, doesn't he? And that shocked him. How many times had Edgar told him of his most recent conquest, all the while chuckling at the naveté when the woman believed his 'I care for you' line.

  "Cole, it doesn't matter to me if this is the only lead we receive," Edgar was saying, his tone a harsh whisper. "I will not leave Zozo without her. Leave me. It won't matter. I'm bringing her out alive and in one piece."

  "We can't leave you in a place like this on your own! That's a suicide mission!"

  "So you would leave Terra?"

  "I didn't say that," Locke protested harshly.

  "Then you better say what you mean, Cole, and quickly. I'm leaving with or without you."

  Locke glanced over at Setzer, who shrugged and turned away, and then looked to Shadow and Interceptor. Shadow seemed withdrawn, even more so than usual, and that made Locke uneasy. "What do you say Shadow? It's your dog. Do you think the trail is bogus or the real deal?"

  Interceptor grumbled and sat on his haunches as he licked his chops, his black eyes pinning Locke's gray ones.

  "It's real," Shadow said.

  "Will it still be there, say, in an hour's time?"

  "That I cannot say, but to risk it could mean losing the trail permanently."

  Locke nodded and turned back to Edgar.

  "You know I cannot leave her," Edgar said. He was more controlled and the hands gripping his spear were the only indication of his struggle. "I must find her, Locke. I must."

  "Yeah," Locke agreed reluctantly and reached out his hand. "Yeah, I know."

  Edgar took hold of Locke's outstretched hand. "I have cheated death many a time, Locke Cole. Do not be sure you have seen the last of me."

  Edgar turned away and ascended the stairs, his cape fluttering in the breeze and giving him a melodramatic appearance. When he disappeared around the corner at the top of the staircase, Locke finally turned away.

  "Smug old scratch," he mumbled.

  Setzer chuckled, following as Locke led the group back out into the rainy afternoon. When Shadow took the lead, Locke glanced over his shoulder at the building once more before following them. He clenched his jaw. Good luck, old friend.

  ~~~

  Blood trickled from Terra's ears as she awoke with a groan. The pain had faded, but she could feel it waiting, perched at the outer edge of her brain bid
ing its time. Patiently gauging the appropriate instance to renew its presence and power. Terra stared vacantly at her hands, unbound, and numbly wondered why she didn't flee. Am I in danger? She wasn't sure. She wasn't sure of anything. Disjointed images, blurred memories, and jumbled emotions were the only thoughts that greeted Terra. The effort required to make sense of them caused a muted throbbing behind her eyes.

  Terra struggled to her feet, leaning almost her entire weight against the moldy brick wall. Rats scurried from under her and she moaned again, the sound of rushing blood all she could hear. Where. . . Where am I? She tried to remember, but the pulsating in her brain stopped her. I need to get out of here. . . But she didn't know why.

  When she'd first woken up there'd been an underlying sense of fear and desperation. Now a strange sort of calm replaced it. Peace. Belonging. Terra rubbed at her forehead with a frown of mild confusion. Something wasn't right. She felt disconnected and numb for brief moments, and then a drug-like feeling of peace followed.

  Something warm trickled down her jaw. She rubbed at it with a cringe. When she pulled her hand away from her face, it was smeared with blood. She wiped the liquid on her leggings with an absent motion and took a few steps forward. A strange longing to be outside kept pulling her forward. Outside. I must get outside. Everything will be all right once I am outside. . . Fly. The thought struck her as familiar, and yet it seemed odd. I can't fly anymore, she reminded. Magic's gon--

  Pain seared through every corner of her brain. Terra screeched, grabbing fistfuls of matted hair as she collapsed to the floor. Sewer rats clambered up and over her, sniffing, scratching, and biting at her, but she could only feel the burning in her head. The melting. . . The boiling. . . The agony. . . She screamed again and the rats scurried away when she began to thrash.

  Then was still.

  ~~~

  Edgar rounded the corner and flinched. The repulsive odor nearly made his toenails curl. He coughed a couple times as he brought a kerchief up to his nose and mouth. Then he fumbled in his pockets for a match. Blast! Never a light when you need one-- His foot rubbed against something. He knelt to examine it, squinting against the blackness. Edgar shook his head. Another body. He straightened. Edgar had found three already: Two men and one woman. All had held such an expression of agony that it had nearly turned his stomach.

  Edgar turned and left the room, closing the rickety door softly behind him. Poor soul. To die in a place like that. . . He hoped he wouldn't find Terra in such a position, and his mind steered away from the possibility. But Terra persisted in fluttering in and out of his mind like an angelic and yet demonic spirit. Teasing him with memories of touches and laughter that he dreamt meant more than they probably had. Then there was the strange reaction he had felt toward her while on their way to Zozo. Feelings could not disappear in less than an hour, but he knew his reaction couldn't be logically reasoned away. It was frustrating and did nothing to alleviate his growing rage. Terra wasn't to blame, but someone was and they would pay with their life.

  A slight scratching sounded to Edgar's right. He turned sharply, his spearhead instinctively poised at the point of origin. It was a door. The scratching sounded again and Edgar stepped closer, lifting the bar with his spear. It dropped away and allowed the door to swing open, hinges screeching in protest.

  Edgar rushed forward, dropping his spear and chain-saw with a "Dammit!" as he knelt by the bloody figure of a young woman.

  Edgar pulled Terra into his lap, wiping the blood from her face and eyes as well as he could. Her opened eyes didn't react to the movement. Edgar dug into his pocket for everything he owned: potions, Eye Drops, Antidotes, Echo Screens, and others.

  Edgar carefully measured two drops of the eye salve into her eyes. After a moment of waiting, they began to track motion and sound. He sighed and popped the cork from his potion, lifting her carefully higher to ladle the honey-like mixture of herbs and roots into her mouth. Minutes passed as he continued his gentle ministration of the potion, keeping his eagle eyes on her staggered breathing and the ghostly whiteness of her clammy skin.

  "Come on, Terra," he whispered. "Fight. Fight this as I know you can." He gently massaged the liquid down her throat with a finger lightly stroking her neck, pausing long enough to wrap his cloak around her when her light tremors began to worsen. "I will not leave you," he promised softly. Edgar ladled more of the potion into her mouth, caressing her cracked lips with a finger. "I will not leave you ever again, Terra. You have my word."

  When the last of the potion had finally trickled down her throat and her breathing had become less of a struggle, Edgar carefully lifted her into his arms and stood. If there is a God in charge of this detestable planet we live on, then let me get out of this hellhole without a problem. He didn't think it too much to ask; but then again, what did he know of God and His schedule.

  Edgar pressed his lips together and stepped into the hall, not caring that his spear and chain-saw still lay on the bloody cell floor.

  He'd be hanged if he let anyone stop him.

  An odd sound gurgled in Terra's throat. Edgar looked down at her pasty white face. The healing effect of the potion wasn't working. She needed an alchemist, or someone more knowledgeable than he at least. Edgar was at a loss as to how to keep her from drowning in her own blood, and that feeling of helplessness quickened his step.

  "Where are you off to in such a hurry, mister?"

  Edgar halted mid-step. His jaw tightened. "That is none of your affair."

  "Well, well. Ain't we the King of Figaro with your high-falootin' way of yammerin'?"

  Edgar didn't turn, nor did he think it wise to own up to how close the hoodlum was to the truth.

  "Ain't you a pretty sight," the man sneered. "I'm thinkin' I want me some of those pretty clothes of yours."

  Edgar gently laid Terra on the floor and shrugged out of his deep purple cape and richly embroidered vest and jacket. Then he took off the gem-encrusted cufflinks on his white silk shirt. He put them in a heap beside him, still without turning, and then lifted Terra into his arms once more.

  "Well I'll be," the Zozoian cooed. "That was easier than guttin' a stuck pig."

  "If that is all. . ."

  "Now don't be in such a rush there, mister. I sure could use a new pair of boots."

  Edgar finally sent a look over his shoulder at the haggard, half-starved ruffian. "If you keep me one more moment, I shall give you a boot directly in your ass, you swine. I have given you more than you deserve, and I shall take it back if you ask for more."

  The Zozoian was so shocked at that response that Edgar was able to exit the building before he was even able to stutter out a reply. Edgar let out a thankful breath when the Zozoians footsteps didn't follow. Now for the final walk through Main Street. He knew he didn't have enough to bribe the entire city, and unless he found a weapon on his way out of town he was defenseless as well. I'm a fool for leaving behind my spear. But he knew that he wouldn't have been able to carry Terra and the weapon--

  Terra moaned and began to thrash, so Edgar increased his grip on her as he continued to stumble forward.

  "Do be still," he mumbled. She proceeded to unknowingly hit him on the side of the face and neck. "Stop it, woman. You'll hurt yourself more than you have already."

  Terra groaned and whimpered, her arms flailing while her upper and lower body twisted and writhed against Edgar's grip. He stumbled to a halt barely 100 yards from the exit of Zozo, desperately attempting to adjust his slipping hold.

  "Terra, if you don't quiet down we will soon have many unwelcome visitors." She cried out and arched her back; her arms and legs suddenly rigid. Edgar staggered to keep his balance under the sudden change. "What is it?" he asked as he slowly knelt.

  Her eyes drifted wildly as her body remained stiffly arched. Edgar repositioned her in his arms, his eyes continuing to search for danger in the surrounding buildings as he gently rocked her. He pressed his lips against her forehead. What do I do? Is she still unde
r the influence of that blasted craziness? Is it Zozo?

  Edgar stared down at Terra's contorted and pale face. "Terra. . . What do I do? What do you need? For what do you search?"

  But her only answer was silence.

  Edgar pressed his lips together and pulled his arms out from under her. Then he took a firm and gentle hold of her face and lowered his head to touch her lips. No response. No spark. No emotion.

  Desperation grabbed Edgar by the soul, and he began to kiss her the only way he knew how: passionately. He kissed her the way he'd dreamed of kissing her for so many months. . . But her lips were cold and lifeless. He pressed on, his mouth becoming more coaxing as he desperately attempted to persuade the Terra he loved to come back to him. But her body remained rigid; her back arched in protest as her arms hung outstretched and partially bent, as if in a frozen state of horror.

  Edgar encircled her with his arms, pulling her against him until he could feel the steady beat of her heart against his chest. Terra, please, his soul pleaded as his lips caressed hers. Nothing. His lips gentled even more, teasing the skin of her cheek with his touch and his breath as he tried to pull her rigid form closer. But the steady beat of her heart didn't change. The rigidity didn't soften. His Terra remained painfully distant.

  Edgar released a groan of agony and impending defeat as his lips once again touched hers. "Terra," he whispered against them. "Sweetest angel, come back to me." He kissed her again, deep and gentle. "Laugh. Cry." And again. "Look up at me with those violet eyes and smile. . ." And then it happened. Her lips began to move with his.

  Sparks burst behind Edgar's eyes and his lips turned to fire, the molten passion burning a trail of ecstasy through his entire body as her response continued to grow. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her fingers buried themselves in his hair, making Edgar's scalp tingled as his mouth trailed down her neck. His soul sang, and he pulled her so tight against him that she cried out in pain.

  "Thank God," he said against her neck in a strangled voice. Terra began to sob and he scooped her up into his arms, holding her against him as he strode forward.