Several reviewers asked, so I’ll address it now – Shantotto may or may not appear. It’s not that I haven’t decided, it’s that I genuinely don’t know. I’m not at all opposed to having her in the story, I like Shantotto. But at the same time I’m not going to have her in just for the sake of having her in. If there’s a place for her, Shantotto will definitely appear. If not, she won’t.

Shards of Memory

Chapter 12

Judgment – Cloud and Terra vs Gabranth

“My strength is as the strength of ten, because my heart is pure.” – Alfred Tennyson

Gabranth let out a roar and charged forward. Cloud leapt and brought the Buster Sword down over his head. Gabranth quickly swung his own sword, blocking the broadsword and knocking it away. Cloud brought the sword back for another blow. Gabranth spun backwards, flipping a hidden catch in the handle of his swords. With a click, he separated the blades and crossed them to stop the strike.

“You possess strength,” Gabranth sneered, “but do you have the will to wield it?” Gabranth deflected the Buster Sword to the left and slashed to the right with his second sword. Cloud narrowly leapt back as the steel cut a slash in the front of his outfit. Gabranth continued his assault, whirling and slicing his swords through the air. Cloud dodged and ducked each strike, and reached down to his waist. With a cry, he ducked a horizontal swing and thrust out his hand, pushing a Materia orb into Gabranth’s chest. A fireball exploded against his armor, sending him flying backwards. Gabranth landed on his back and flipped backwards again, landing on his feet. The red aura on his armor crackled as he laughed.

“Is that all you weaklings can muster?”

“No.”

Gabranth’s eyes widened and he spun around as Terra flung out her palms. A large shard of ice flew through the air, and Gabranth sliced it apart as it neared him. Two more ice shards flew, and Gabranth deflected them with a cry before running forward. He drew one of his swords over his shoulder and sliced the air before him. Terra leapt up as he attacked, spinning in the air and firing three orbs of light. Gabranth looked up and back-flipped away as the orbs exploded in the ground beneath his feet. Terra landed beside Cloud with a small gasp.

“You really think you can take on both of us?” she called. Across the plaza, Gabranth brought his swords before him and clicked them back together.

“No, I think nothing of the sort!” he replied, swinging the dual-blade behind his back. Gabranth whipped the sword forward, sending a torrent of wind across the plaza. Terra and Cloud lifted their hands to shield themselves and turned away, their clothing fluttering out behind them. In the wake of the wind, Gabranth charged forward. Cloud lifted his head to peer through the wind and swung the Buster Sword, catching the edge of Gabranth’s blade with the flat. Without missing a beat, the Judge clicked apart the two swords and swung the freed secondary blade. The blade stopped in the air, and Gabranth turned his head to see Terra holding her sword over her head, holding Gabranth’s back.

“Ignorant deviants…” Gabranth sneered. With a cry, he spun around, deflecting Cloud and Terra away. Kneeling, Gabranth narrowed his eyes and spun forward again. “Let me see you suffer!” Gabranth flung out his hands, a blast of energy emanating from his palms. The force knocked both Warriors of Cosmos back down the stairs behind them. Above them, Gabranth’s hands glowed with dark energy, wisps of magic floating off his fists. Cloud looked up as Gabranth slammed his hands together, sending tendrils of darkness circling and whirling forward.

“Cloud!” beside him, Terra lifted her hands, a barrier rippling up from the ground. The dark tendrils slammed against the barrier and dispersed in puffs of smoke. The barrier vanished, and Terra and Cloud climbed to their feet.

“Impressive, but how long can you keep it up?” Gabranth asked. Cloud leapt forward, twirling the Buster Sword over his head. Gabranth jumped back as Cloud cleaved his sword over his hand and slammed it into the ground where Gabranth had stood a moment ago. Cloud stood up and attacked again. SOLDIER and Judge swung, dodged, ducked, thrust and parried again and again, Gabranth standing his ground the while. Terra ran up the stairs behind Cloud and flung her hand out. A flock of fireballs fired from her palm, circling around Cloud to bombard Gabranth. He cried out as the magical attack slammed into him from the sides, and Cloud seized the chance. He swung the Buster Sword over his shoulder, then swung it as hard as he could. Gabranth went flying backwards, slamming into part of the statue in the middle of the fountain in the plaza. He hit the ground and rolled with a groan.

“Nice shot,” Cloud said.

“Thanks,” Terra replied. Across the plaza, Gabranth used his sword as a crutch and pushed himself to his feet, breathing deeply.

“You are both strong,” he called, “but you lack the true strength needed to defy Chaos!”

“True strength?” Terra whispered.

“Prove your worth to me now!” Gabranth continued, bringing his sword in front of his face. The blade glowed with white energy. “If you cannot overcome me, how do you expect to overcome a god!?” Gabranth separated his sword and swung the larger blade back and forth through the air. Four crescent blades of magic sliced across the plaza, cutting through what was left of the fountain. Cloud swung the Buster Sword, cutting apart three of the blades, and Terra fired a blast of flame that dispersed the fourth.

“Any ideas?” Cloud muttered.

“Alone we’re no match for him,” Terra replied, thinking quickly. Her eyes widened slightly, and she turned to Cloud. “Can you get him into the air?”

“Huh?” Cloud asked, giving her an odd look.

“I need him in the air so I can get a good shot at him,” Terra explained. Cloud smirked and nodded.

“I got something,” he said. “Just watch your aim.” The two whipped their heads forward as Gabranth leapt clean over the fountain, spinning his sword over his head. Cloud jumped up after him, swinging the Buster Sword and canceling his momentum. The two of them landed on the ground on their feet, and Gabranth swung his sword over his head. Cloud ducked and rolled to the side, swinging the Buster Sword into the ground as he righted himself on his feet. A burst of blue energy fired along the ground, and Gabranth was sent stumbling back by the attack.

“Now!” Cloud called, running towards the stunned judge. Gabranth let out a gasp as Cloud sliced the Buster Sword down over his chest, carving a gash in the armor, then spun and slammed the flat into Gabranth’s hip. The judge was sent flying into the air, and on the ground, Terra concentrated and summoned an orb of fire into his hands. Opposite her, Cloud lifted the Buster Sword over his head and spun it, wisps of blue energy surrounding it. “Like I said, watch the aim!” Cloud called, turning and running towards a wall. He took a step, leapt onto the wall, and pushed off.

Gabranth grunted as Cloud slashed across his back, skidding to a halt in mid-air as he dashed past. Terra held up her hands and launched a fireball into Gabranth’s chest, knocking him back in the air to face Cloud again. Cloud dashed forward again, doubling him over. Another fireball hit Gabranth in the shoulder, spinning him around for the third slash. Another fireball hit his back, flipping him forward again as Cloud dashed into him a fourth time, slashing the Buster Sword across Gabranth’s back and leaping into the air above him. Terra narrowed her eyes and summoned a field of blue energy around Gabranth, her palms glowing with blue magic.

With a final cry, Terra slammed her palms together, collapsing the Ultima spell onto Gabranth with a flash of light. Gabranth let out a scream, opening his eyes in time to see the field of blue magic clear. In the wake of the spell’s explosion, Cloud twirled the Buster Sword and descended, slamming the blade into Gabranth’s chest. A shockwave of power burst out from the impact, and Cloud landed on the ground, the Buster Sword imbedding its tip in the ground in front of him a moment later. Gabranth hit the ground behind him heavily not long after, the sound of metal hitting stone echoing across the plaza.

“Cloud!” Terra ran forward as Cloud kneeled, panting. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Cloud nodded, reaching out to grab the handle of his weapon. “What about Gabranth?” Cloud pulled the Buster Sword from the ground and turned around. The judge twitched and put out a hand, pushing himself onto one knee. There was a small creak of metal as Gabranth’s helmet slipped off his ducked head, clanging on the ground and dissolving into particles of light. At the same time, the red aura around Gabranth’s armor vanished. The defeated Judge Magister panted heavily, and shakily climbed to his feet.

“Very impressive,” Gabranth whispered, stumbling slightly as he reared to his full height. “It appears I misjudged you.”

“You got that right,” Cloud muttered. Gabranth turned to face the two warriors, smiling slightly.

“You defeated me, yes. But do not take the victory for granted. You won by combining your strength, defending each other and relying on each other in the heat of battle. This is a lesson you must remember, if you hope to defeat Chaos.”

“Gabranth,” Terra whispered, lifting a hand to her chest. “Why did you attack us?” Gabranth turned his head and walked over to his discarded weapon, picking up the dual-blade and holding it up to inspect it.

“There are others like me,” he said, dismissing the weapon in a flash of light. “Others trapped by defeat and loss, bound to this world by the Gods. As long as Chaos and Cosmos endure, the cycle of war can never be broken. Shinryu’s will is too great to be denied…or, so I have thought for so long.” Gabranth turned around and lifted his head to look into the sky.

“This time…something is different,” he murmured. “The breeze carries a new smell…the foul, deceptive stench of hope…for me, this hope is meaningless, but for you?” Gabranth lowered his eyes. “The winds of change blow, Warriors of Cosmos. I believe this time a chance will present itself. A one in an eternity chance, the chance to end the cycle. When the cycle of conflict ends, Chaos and Cosmos will sink into oblivion, and I will be freed from my torment.” Gabranth began to walk towards Terra and Cloud. Cloud tensed his grip on the Buster Sword, but Terra put a hand out on the blade and pushed it downwards.

“But this chance will not be taken by the weak,” Gabranth said lowly, stopping before them. “When the time comes, can you do what must be done? You struggled to defeat me, and there are far stronger opponents down the path ahead of you both. You must continue your training, if you wish to destroy Chaos. That is my lesson to you, heroes. Forget it and suffer. Take it to heart, and it will serve you well.”

“We will,” Terra nodded. “No matter how strong Chaos is, we’ll defeat him together.”

“There’s ten of us,” Cloud said. “Together, we’ll be more than enough to handle him.”

“We shall see,” Gabranth said. “You speak true, though. The individual is weak, but the group is strong. So long ago, my brother taught me that.” Gabranth closed his eyes. “I thought then, I understood how Basch had the strength he did…to have nothing to fight for, and yet to fight as though he had everything to protect…but I was wrong. Warriors like Basch, like the Lady Ashe and the two of you, even in defeat you find the strength to carry on. I cannot. My defeats are iron chains binding me to my past. They hold no answers and no lessons for me. They torment me.”

‘”Gabranth…” Terra bowed her head. “Your heart is full of darkness, but…I sense light within you.” Terra lifted her head. “When you were called, why did you betray that?” Gabranth opened his eyes.

“Hmph. Chaos made me an offer. An offer I would imagine, he makes to all his slaves. The offer to alter the past, and remake our worlds. I would be loathe to reject such an offer. As the Lady Ashe once told me, power cannot change the past. Even the power of a god. Chaos’ slaves fight for false promises. They are fools…as was I.”

“And if he did let you change your past,” Cloud asked, “what would you have done to your world?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Gabranth laughed. He shook his head and walked forward. “It doesn’t matter now. What matters is the two of you. Remember what you have learned here today. To fight for each other, and what you hold dear.” Gabranth walked between Terra and Cloud and headed down the large staircase behind them. “Remember what it is you fight for. Too many get caught in the thrill of war and lose their hearts and souls to the bloodshed. They forget who they are, and live for nothing but fighting. I beseech you both, do not let this happen to the two of you.” Gabranth stopped partway down the stairs, and looked over his shoulder.

“Do not allow yourselves to become like me.”

Cloud and Terra watched as glow green orbs of light floated up from Gabranth’s body. A moment later there was a flash of light, and when it cleared, the Judge Magister had vanished.

“Jecht.”

Jecht stopped walking across the bridge over the mountain chasm below and turned. With a crackle of dark violet lightning, Golbez appeared behind him. Jecht scowled and lifted his sword onto his shoulder.

“So, Mateus sent ya to bring me back huh?” he muttered. “This ain’t exactly the best place for a battle, but if ya want one there’s a nice open area back the way I came.”

“I have not come to spar with you, Jecht,” Golbez said. Jecht snorted and lowered his sword.

“Really? Damn. I could use a good brawl…what do you want then?” he asked.

“I would know why you have abandoned us,” Golbez said.

“What, being bossed around by Mateus isn’t reason enough?”

“You know better than to believe I will accept that.”

“Fine then. I left because there’s no point fighting for Chaos. Garland said if we win, we can remake our worlds as we wish,” Jecht said, crossing his arms.

“And you would remake your world with Zanarkand a reality and your son by your side,” Golbez nodded. It was a statement, not a question. Jecht was not unlike him, he fought for a higher cause. That was the main reason Golbez was here now. Jecht lowered his head and stared at the wooden planks under his feet.

“Do you really think Chaos is gonna let me do that?” he asked. “Recruit me to destroy my world, and let me put it back the way it was? I ain’t stupid, that’s a lie. We won’t remake the worlds as we want them, Chaos will remake them the way he wants them, using us. That lie was just supposed to give us false hope, a reason to fight. I’ve had my share of false hope in my life, I don’t need any more.”

“Ah yes, the despair brought by the truth, or the hope born of a delusion…I hear the denizens of your world are well versed in such choices,” Golbez chuckled. “You would discard this so-called false hope, and your ties to the darkness? What is left for you then?”

“I’m finding my boy,” Jecht said, slamming his fist into his palm. “And I’m gonna help him smash Chaos into itty-bitty pieces.”

“You wish now to see Chaos defeated?” Golbez asked.

“Yeah. Hell, I gotta die again, but better me than the whole world. I’m used to that sort of thing, ya know?”

“Would you abstain from considering alternatives?”

“Like what?” Jecht said.

“What if there was another hope, Jecht? I speak of true hope, not Chaos’ falsehoods. Hope for the restoration of yourself and Zanarkand. And Tidus with you.”

“Sounds too good to be true. So it probably is. What’s the catch?” Jecht said, narrowing his eyes.

“You have to let Tidus kill you,” Golbez replied. Jecht let out a laugh.

“Ya said ‘let’…yeah I would have to, wouldn’t I?” he smiled. “The crybaby is too much of a wimp to take me out without help…so that’s it? Let him kill me?”

“Not quite. There is someone else I must have you meet with first. She would speak to you, if you wish to be a part of this plan.”

“Plan? There’s a plan now?” Jecht asked.

“There are several,” Golbez replied. “The question is if you’d like to take a more active role in them.”

“Ya know, I was wondering when you’d stop pulling your little strings and come on down for a chat,” Jecht muttered, shaking his head. “…alright, what the hell. I’m listening. Make it good.”

“The power to change the past,” Terra whispered. “Do you really think Chaos has that sort of power?” She turned and looked across the small shop at Cloud. Cloud was busy examining a suit of metal armor hung on a wall.

“Maybe. Who knows?” he replied. “Chaos is a god after all.” Cloud looked over at a shelf and reached out to pick up a longsword in a leather sheath.

“True,” Terra nodded, looking away. In truth, she was more concerned about what Gabranth had said about this ‘divine dragon’. If he was telling the truth, Shinryu was even stronger than Chaos and Cosmos, strong enough to revive them and trap the universe in a cycle of war and strife. If Gabranth was right, if they weren’t the first to be called to arms by Cosmos…what were they expected to do?

“If we defeat Chaos…our worlds will be restored, but…” Terra bit her lip. “But if Shinryu will just revive Chaos, then the war will continue and our worlds will just be endangered again. Does this mean, to truly save the worlds…would we have to kill Shinryu?” Was that even possible? Cloud had said it before: Chaos was a god that may have the power to bend the fabric of time. And Shinryu was even stronger than Chaos. How do you kill a being stronger than a god?

“Divine dragon…” Terra closed her eyes.

“We’re still working on helping the refugees from Narshe take back the town,” Edgar muttered, lifting a hand to his chin. “The problem is that the monsters in the mines are stubborn, they’ve gotten into passages and caves even the miners didn’t know about.”

“I thought Mog and the Moogles were looking for them,” Celes asked, confused. Edgar shrugged and stood up, crossing the room to look out the window. The town of South Figaro, itself still being rebuilt, stretched before him outside.

“They are, but the Moogles aren’t really good fighters,” he said. “They can only do so much, Mog is doing most of the work.”

“What about Locke?” Celes and Edgar turned as Terra sat up from her seat by the fireplace. “He knows the Narshe mines, can’t we ask him to help them?”

“If we can find him,” Celes muttered, casting her eyes downward. Terra’s heart twitched. Locke loved her, they all knew it, and so did Celes. But old habits were hard to break. It hadn’t even been a week after Kefka’s defeat before he ran off to investigate rumors of new treasure. In the past two months they’d barely heard from him.

“Setzer told me he helps Locke get around now and then,” Edgar said, walking towards Celes. “We’ll get a message to him, bring him back.”

“And we’ll make him stay,” Terra said firmly, putting an arm around Celes’ shoulders. “Even if we have to chain him up.” Celes let out a laugh.

“He’d find a way out,” she replied. “Speaking of Setzer, I thought he said he was going to help finance the construction?”

“He’s going to, right now he needs the money for–” There was a crash outside, and the three Returners whirled their heads to the window. Terra and Edgar ran to look outside, and let out a simultaneous gasp. Vaguely humanoid creatures, colored red, blue, gold and purple, had burst out of the door leading to the passages underneath the town. With a bellow, one of the creatures, a larger blue one, barreled forward and charged clean through the wall of a house. The people on the streets nearby began to run as the monsters spread out, demolishing anything in their path.

“What are those?” Terra asked.

“Let’s worry after we stop them,” Edgar muttered. He reached over to the side of the wall and grabbed one of the crossbows he had taken from the castle for protection. “Celes, can you evacuate the townspeople? I’ll try and buy you some time.”

“You can’t take them on by yourself!” Celes protested, following Edgar to the top of the stairs.

“We don’t have a choice, it’s just the three of us, unless Sabin gets back from…Terra!” Edgar called. Terra didn’t hear him. The sight out the window had transfixed her. Blue eyes widened as the blue skies overhead darkened with storm clouds. Thunder rumbled, and lightning flashed among the clouds. Through a gap between them, a long, serpentine creature slithered through the air. Terra gasped as the creature flew through a larger gasp, display a glowing silver body with a rainbow-colored aura that vanished behind the clouds, leaving little more than its head visible. The creature stopped its flight, and lowered its head. Terra felt a chill go down her spine as the creature looked at her.

The sounds of the screams and the voices of her friends and the crackling of the fire faded in the background as Terra and the creature looked at each other. She couldn’t see it clearly enough to identify a face on it, but its head had lowered, and Terra someone knew that the creature was watching her. The room around her began to shake, and in the back of her mind Terra heard Edgar say something and ignored him. The silver creature in the sky hovered silently, and Terra felt the air around her grow hot. She lifted an arm and looked down in detached fascination as a magical aura lit up along her skin, raising the fine hairs there. A sensation she hadn’t felt in more than two years. A shadow fell over her arm, and Terra lifted her head to see one of the colored humanoids leaping towards the window, arm coming forward. The glass shattered in front of her eyes, and Terra fainted to the floor, crumpling as the monster crashed over her body into the room.

“Terra?” Cloud reached out to place a gloved hand on Terra’s shoulder, and she let out gasp and jumped. Cloud followed suit, jumping back and retracting his hand. The green-haired young woman blinked rapidly and turned to him, stunned.

“Huh?” she said.

“I said, ‘let’s move on’,” Cloud repeated. Terra gave him a blank look, then nodded.

“Right…right,” she agreed. “Um…where to?”

“Are you alright?” Cloud asked, giving her an odd glance. Terra normally seemed so calm and composed. He wasn’t used to seeing her like this.

“Yeah…yes I’m fine…I was just thinking,” Terra said. “You’re right, let’s move on.” Terra turned to the door of the small shop and briskly walked out, eager to get out of the stifling cramped room. The unseen eyes of the beast she’d seen when her world had fallen bored into her skull still. At the time, Terra didn’t know what the beast was, and after awakening in this world she didn’t have the time to be concerned with it. Now…

“That day, when the cataclysm struck…that must have been the divine dragon…Shinryu,” Terra thought, letting the door swing shut behind her. Gabranth really was telling the truth then. Unless she had been hallucinating the shining creature looking at her. Given her deteriorating mental condition since the cataclysm, it wouldn’t surprise her. But there was a way to make sure. Terra turned to see Cloud emerge from the shop, closing the door behind him out of habit.

“Cloud?” she said softly.

“Yeah?” Cloud looked over at her.

“When…when your world was destroyed…did you see anything?” Terra asked hesitantly.

“Like, what?” Cloud said. Terra hesitated again for a moment.

“Like…a flying creature, in the sky,” she explained. Cloud shrugged.

“Not really. I was a bit busy protecting my family,” he replied, walking down the street. Terra watched him, confused. He hadn’t mentioned anything about a family before. Terra momentarily thought of her own family. Her mother Madeline was a mystery. Terra couldn’t remember anything about her at all, everything she knew about her came from Maduin. They’d only known each other for two years when Madeline had found her way to the Esper world. According to Maduin, Madeline had been an otherworldly beauty with a pure spirit that had drawn him to her since she first awoke in their world and looked up at him. He said she and Terra had the same eyes.

Terra had never met her father in person, but Maduin’s spirit within his Magicite shard had been an endless source of comfort and guidance. Terra had kept Maduin’s stone with her at all times, to the end of the world and beyond. It was only with his help she had tamed her Esper and learned to control her powers, and his simple presence made her stronger in battle. Terra had seen him, and her mother Madeline, through Maduin’s eyes when he had telepathically linked to her mind and the minds of her friends to show them the events of the Empire’s invasion of the Esper world.

“You never told me you had a family,” Terra said. “What are they like?”

“Well, not a real family, not like…” Cloud thought for a moment. “It’s hard to explain. Denzel and Marlene are orphans, they’re not actually our kids. And Tifa and I aren’t married and we’re not their real parents. But yeah…we’re a family together.”

“Must be nice…” Terra whispered.

“What about you?” Cloud asked. “Don’t you have any family?”

“No,” Terra said, shaking her head. “My parents were killed by the Empire when I was a kid. I don’t remember them at all.”

“Oh…guess it’s my turn to be sorry then,” Cloud coughed slightly. “I didn’t know.”

“I know, it’s alright,” Terra let out a small sigh. “I have a family still, and extended family, very extended. I haven’t spoken to some of them in a long time since we defeated Kefka, it’s been a couple years, but at last count there was more than a dozen of us.”

“That’s a big family,” Cloud nodded. “You said you haven’t spoken to some of them. You don’t keep in touch?”

“We do, as much as we can. But we all had our own lives before we banded together. When Kefka was defeated, most of us went back to the lives we left,” Terra said. That was a slight lie. Kefka had changed the world, not just physically, but he had changed the people living in it. When the planet had been restored, the inhabitants hadn’t been similarly shifted back. Terra had no idea what had happened to Shadow, Locke and Cyan. They had vanished into the world and only occasionally reappeared, and the mysterious mime Gogo had likewise been absent from sight.

The only people Terra saw on a regular basis were Gau, who still roamed the Veldt, and Setzer, Edgar and Celes. Setzer would often ferry Terra to Figaro Castle, Celes would come up from her home in Jidoor, and the four would enjoy the evening together. Sabin lived in South Figaro and occasionally joined them. The rest of the group, Mog, Umaro, Relm and Strago, Terra hadn’t seen them since Kefka’s defeat and heard only second-hand information from Setzer and Edgar. Setzer said Relm was honing her painting skills, and Strago’s health was deteriorating, age finally catching up with him. Mog and Umaro had returned to try and reestablish the Moogle settlement in the Narshe mountains, or so Edgar’s scouts to the town had said.

“Everyone found some way to move on with their lives…” Terra thought, her heart feeling heavy. “But me…” Terra still lived in Mobliz caring for the orphans, though many had grown up and were teenagers now. Some of the older kids had even gone along with Setzer to some other town in the world to make a living on their own. Watching the kids slowly trickle off as time wore on had been a wake-up call. It had been with some fear and hesitation that Terra had silently admitted to herself that there was no future in the ruins of Mobliz. What could she and the kids do, rebuild the town? Even rebuilt the town was isolated except for Setzer and the airship. Duane and Katarin had become young adults, and their baby was beginning to talk. Thought he kept such words sparse around Terra, she knew Duane had suggested he and Katarin move away as well. Deep down, Terra knew the only reason they had stayed in Mobliz as long as they had was for her. The only reason the village still existed at all was because of her.

“When they grow up…when they all leave…what will I do?” Terra asked herself. Celes lived in Jidoor in a small home. The Magitek general had told Terra she considered her a sister, and invited her to stay with her whenever she wished. The high culture and luxury of Jidoor was appealing, but Terra had always felt out of place when their journey had taken them there in the past. The idea of living with Celes wasn’t a horrible one, but Terra couldn’t see herself living in Jidoor’s splendor. Terra had no idea where she’d go or what she’d do with her life if she left Mobliz. The village had given her a place where she felt needed, felt like she belonged. A feeling she hadn’t felt anywhere else before. A feeling that was slowly fading away.

“You’re doing it again.”

Terra blinked, holding her eyes shut for a moment before opening them to see Cloud standing in front of her looking at her in mild amusement.

“You keep doing that, I’m going to have to get a bell to snap you back to reality,” Cloud muttered, lifting his eyebrows. Terra blushed.

“I’m sorry…I’ve just got a lot on my mind,” she said.

“I don’t blame you,” Cloud nodded. “If you can stay with me for a minute, I wanted to ask if you know where we’re supposed to go next. Did your mystery friend tell you?”

“No, he only told me to come to the city,” Terra said. Inwardly, she realized that Gabranth’s presence here was probably why the figure had told her to come here. Whoever he was, he wanted her to know what Gabranth had told them. The next time the figure appeared, Terra resolved to ask him a few choice questions. “But I can still sense the powerful presence from before,” she continued aloud. It’s to the north-east, and it’s stronger than before.”

“Right. Let’s go.” Cloud began walking down the street again, Terra slowly following behind. “And no falling into thought this time,” Cloud called over his shoulder. “If I look behind me, I wanna see you keeping up, okay?”

“Yeah yeah,” Terra grumbled, blushing again. “I’m just worried is all.”

“About the Crystals,” Cloud nodded. “I don’t blame you at all.”

“No, not them,” Terra shook her head. “I’m more worried about what happens after we find them and restore the worlds.”

“Why? What happens when we return to our worlds?” Cloud asked.

“That’s just it…” Terra whispered sadly. “I have no idea. I’ll return home of course, but…it’s not a problem for you,” she sighed. “You have a real home in your world. You have people waiting for you there, people you love, people who love you back.”

“And you don’t have anyone like that?” Cloud said.

“Fewer and fewer every day…”

Cloud stopped and looked over his shoulder. Terra kept walking, not noticing he wasn’t. She had her head help down, her green hair hanging down to hide her face from his view. Considering how normally hopeful and spirited she was, it was like a blow to the chest to see her so depressed.

“Am I supposed to do something?” Cloud thought, watching her keep pace with him. Did she want him to say something, do something? He could try and comfort her, maybe. Cloud knew all too well the feelings of loneliness she was talking about. But, he also knew she had a point. He had people in his world to return to. Terra had just told him she had no family, and she’d never mentioned any lovers or companions. Was there really no one in her world waiting for her to come back?

“I…” Cloud said after a moment. “I…I’m sorry,” he blurted out. Terra lifted her head to look at him. The look of sadness laced with confusion was a second blow.

“For what?” she asked softly. “You didn’t do anything. It’s not like it’s your fault I’m alone is it?”

“But…you aren’t, right?” Cloud urged, trying to cheer her up. “What I mean is…I’m here. That’s something isn’t it? We can be alone together, if you want.” Terra looked at him strangle, her mouth twisting into a half-smile.

“Sure,” she let out a sad laugh and walked past him. Cloud watched her pass him and let out a breath. At least she was smiling again.