Once again he was in the dark…running…someone’s (something’s) footsteps followed behind…he didn’t who it was…were they following him…or were they chasing him…

He continued frantically through the still inky darkness…suffocating darkness…so thick that he was swallowing it rather than the cool air that drifted through his long locks of hair…

…Immediately after the thought occurred to him, he knew that he was being chased…hunted…

The air…if there were possibly air at all…was dry and hot and dusty now…not cool…not soothing…it coated his mouth and throat and lungs and he gasped…choked…

…was that a strange pale light glowing around him?

(the crystal)

Like it were the center of the earth and the light glowed from…

(the crystal)

…the ground…?

…as he ran…

A voice called to him…It must have belonged to the same person whose footfalls were directly behind him…following him….no, chasing him…

For some god-forsaken reason he slowed his pace…turned around…

(idiot don’t you know that’s how they sneak up on you when you turn around to see who it is or who you think it is they just step in front then it’s over for you man history snap out like the proverbial candle)

Squinting into the darkness behind, he could see a silhouette etched against the spectre light…fingers extended from a hand…reached for him…

…He thought they had been left behind…far behind…out of reach but no, they were here…

Something made him stop…he stumbled over something

(someone)

or stumbled over his own feet clumsy fool but somehow he stumbled and then he fell and the figure was there…the figure caught him…

He screamed as it too fell…close to him…fell at his feet…he scrabbled backward across the darkness unable to stand on his feet hardly able to breathe but he closed his yes because he didn’t want to see the silhouette…

…He wanted it to remain faceless in the impenetrable darkness…

…A hand reached for him…cold paralysis crept into his muscles...into his mind…

(this shouldn’t be happening you left the figure far behind…far behind in the dying shadows…to die? No you’d never even imagine that but he told you to go go without me!…in the dying shadows…)

Something warm touched his hand

(blood)

The hand reaching for him touched his hand and he felt warmth pour over his own fingers…

(blood)

And he jerked his hand away with a strained breathless cry but it had already touched his face dear God it touched his face and the warmth spread over his cheek and forehead but he was instantly chilled as a strange wind swirled through the darkness…the heat and warmth returned to his face like I’m alive again like I’m being born again thank God and sweat stood out on his forehead and trickled down his neck and made his skin sticky and cool and warm all at once…

He desperately tried to pull his face away from the cold lifeless hand but the other hand of the dark figure gripped his shoulder for God’s sake it not only touched his shoulder it gripped his shoulder and he was trapped…

Warmth spread across his other cheek and he longed to scream or run or lash out and get rid of the figure he just wanted to breathe again or wake up from this horrible nightmare maybe all of the above is a better choice he thought wildly but you can’t do any of those things in a dream and he wished he could shut out the image forever or

(dream)

…or…

(dream)

…the pale blue light drifted into his eyes…but it was bright…not coming from below or beneath or beyond…it was all around him and awfully bright…his eyes burned funny I didn’t know they were even open…he wanted the darkness to return but not the

(dream)

silhouette was still in front of him but it was pressed into the light not the oppressive darkness...

It was the face of a woman…her hair fell around her beautiful face...her hand touched his cheek and it was soothing unlike the cold hand…

…Rosa…

…he opened his eyes see I knew they were shut after all I’m not the crazy one and they instantly welled with tears from the light that he was not accustomed to but he was staring at Rosa and everything had just been a bad dream…

"…Rosa…"

His voice was weak and muffled…his tongue, swollen and dry like he had been chewing on dirt and sand…his words fell unintelligibly from his lips…

"…Did you say something, sir?"

A voice spoke very close to his ear…he was crestfallen to discover that it was not Rosa’s voice…his eyes were half-closed but he could still see the woman’s face…it was not Rosa’s face…suddenly her face disappeared but her voice spoke again…obviously there were others in this place with her…Cecil couldn’t see very much but his eyes seemed to be adjusting well…

"…He spoke…I think…"

The woman’s concerned voice floated again into his ears…she must have been a cleric or nurse…he must be where? What happened? Hazy images drifted into his head…the dark caped figure of…

(Cecil)

standing in the pale light of the crystal chamber…who held the crystal as everything was blinding? How did everything become so dark? There was a cold black statue of

(Cecil)

standing in the eerie blue light…the dead light…it was a strange mixture…like a ray of pure white holy light flashing into the filthy, dirty, sickening

"…Cecil…"

the way the sunlight glittered through a small window in the stone room onto

"Cecil!"

A familiar voice screeching in his ear forced his eyes to flutter open instinctively…the light around him wasn’t nearly as bad as he first imagined…it wasn’t as bright as he had

(dreamed)

imagined…

"See? You have to holler real loud to wake people up, Edward!"

The voice was beside him again and through his foggy mind he recognized it as Rydia…he shifted slightly and saw her eager face vaguely through his bleary eyes…before he could utter a word, her grinning face disappeared as another voice, the first voice, spoke again:

"Yes…but the intention was not to also wake those across the hall, Rydia…"

Cecil triumphed inwardly as he heard the last word….it proved that he still thinking a bit clearly…the name Edward also sounded familiar so he was not as disconnected as he thought he must have been…

"Great God, Cecil! You’re finally awake!"

The relief in the prince’s voice made Cecil frown or, at least, it felt like a frown…awake? Had he ever been asleep? He turned his head slowly toward Edward’s voice…his neck was stiff…his head felt dull and heavy and throbby but he tried to speak again…

"…What…is –"

"You got sick, Cecil --"

Rydia declared solemnly but shrilly…he gave a half-groan…God how his head hurt…sick…? He hadn’t been sick…had he…?

"—When you didn’t wake up for awhile, I cried all night –"

A while…? What did she mean by awhile…?

"—And you didn’t even wake up the next day so I cried more cause I wanted you to be okay…"

…the next day…? What was she talking about…? Maybe she had been sick instead of him…

"You don’t remember?"

Edward appeared once again…the young man looked more depressed than ever…a white bandage was wrapped around his forehead and his light blond hair spilled over the sides of it…it was quite an amusing sight but Cecil couldn’t laugh…it would have hurt too much…Edward had a haphazard sling on his arm…his right arm hung uselessly at his side and his fingers were curled into a weak fist at his stomach…his eyes were very alive as he gazed at Cecil with a look of concern and surprise…

"--You’ve been ill for several days…"

…ill…?

"…You…fainted…and…God, man, we thought you had died!"

Cecil felt himself take a raspy breath…it hurt…he could almost see his lungs working inside…doing as little as possible…Then a tiny strange laugh escaped his lips…

"…It’s…f-funny --"

He actually spoke…what he said he didn’t really know…it must have been bizarre because the prince of Damcyan frowned…

"--It’s…funny --" he repeated although it was not funny at all…he even felt a smile playing on his lips…a smile for God’s sake…and look at me…

"—I…don’t…remember…"

Edward didn’t reply for a moment…he tried to understand exactly what the knight meant…funny…? Not hardly…he’s just delirious, Edward reminded himself…he doesn’t know what he’s saying…later when he speaks he won’t even remember saying these things…"I don’t remember…?" Too bad it’s not that easy for the rest of us…

Cecil heard muffled voices around him…there must have been several doctors in the room and probably too many patients to care for…

"…After the –" Edward began speaking without warning…he hesitated, uncertain what to say next…unsure of his next statement.

"—After what happened, those few remaining alive began to unselfishly help the injured…"

He paused and a door slammed somewhere in the near distance…Edward’s face was not visible where Cecil lay on his bed but the knight could picture the young man shaking his head dolefully…

"—There were...so…many –"

He paused again and Cecil heard other voices speaking around him again…

"—Within hours there were mass burials to prevent the spread of disease, but the damage had already been done –"

Cecil could clearly picture the prince grimacing…

"—There is a severe shortage of medical supplies, so most of the people injured are –"

…dead…dying…go ahead and say it because that’s an easy blank to fill…

"—Not…expected…to…make…it…"

Cecil sighed and lifted his head to look at Edward, but Edward had turned to a doctor…the man spoke in a low voice and Edward nodded…finally the man turned to tend to a small child crying in the corner of the crowded room…

"—The castle itself –" Edward started again, "—suffered such damage that plans for reconstruction are not even spoken…"

Yet…add yet on that to make me feel better, damn you…Cecil stared at Edward…

"…But…how –"

"They constructed some sort of lift –" Edward explained. "—A sort of pulley system made of what few materials were taken from scrapping a few of the merchant ships --"

Cecil nodded…at least help could be given to those people remaining alive in the upper battlements…

"--Cecil –" Edward said thoughtfully. "—I believe that Fabul has not slept for several days --"

The child across the room ceased crying…Cecil tried not to think about it…he hoped and prayed desperately that it would start crying again so he would know it was okay…it was okay…it had to be…Cecil tried to force the thought from his mind…what Edward said…about the shortage of medicine and doctors…it was unbearable to think what might happen to the innocent children…how they suffered…

"--I would not know night from day if the moons and the sun did not consistently arrive to claim one or the other…"

Cecil at last pushed himself to a half-sitting position…he rested his stiff back against the head of the small bed…it was hard and uncomfortable but it was better than nothing…the room around him was filled with shadows…sunlight…or…so he thought…beamed through one window of the crowded room…the rest of the light was provided by a few candles burning dimly…hopelessly…beds surrounded him, covered by people…injured people…hurt people…parts of people? Most likely…blood stained sheets were spread over the injured and the sharp smell of herbs hovered in the air…the White Robes bustled between the sick patients and families cried about their loved ones and strangers offered comfort to anyone who was in need of it…

"Cecil –"

Edward spoke suddenly and Cecil glanced at the young man…he appeared to hesitate again…it seemed to happen more and more…hesitate…it keeps all of the bad news on your side…

"—The…king…was grievously…wounded --"

Cecil scowled…

"--He denied…the use of medicine…for himself --"

Cecil's brow creased even more as he stared at the sheet…

"--He only…asked…to be taken…to his own…bedroom…where --"

Edward paused and sniffed…Cecil rested his head against the pillow wearily…

"--Wh-where --"

Edward couldn't force his words out…he couldn't say what he was thinking…instead he gave a small laugh…a strained laugh…

"--Cecil...now is the time to pray for Fabul…but…I am afraid I don't know how…"

…Don't know how Cecil wondered incredulously…wildly…you just do it….strange…had he really thought those words…? Edward didn't speak for awhile…it was Rydia who loudly broke the awkward silence…

"Cecil, you are okay, aren't you?"

He nodded, shifting slightly despite the pain in his entire body…

"I…think…so…"

Rydia shook her head as if he had given an incorrect answer…he glanced at her intently…

"…No…I mean, you won't give up…will you…?"

Give up…? The words had never meant anything to Cecil…well, of course they meant something to him because he had seen them in action…they never meant anything to him personally because he would never let them mean anything to him…until now? Well…after the little girl said the words it struck him as not an impersonal fleeting idea but a concrete idea…personal…relieving…give up? Why not? He said nothing…he pretended to ponder the question but he knew exactly what the girl meant…

…She was too bright to be such a young child…

"—Because I know –" Here she greatly emphasized the ‘know.’ "—I know…well –"

She paused for a second…

"—Well…something tells me that Rosa is okay –"

Cecil secretly hated her for saying that name…making him realize the god-awful truth…

"—And –" she continued, pointing at him. "—You said you can’t do this anymore --"

He closed his eyes hopelessly…how did she know what he meant when he said that…

"—You know –" she explained matter-of-factly. "—When you said you couldn’t just stand back and watch –"

…His eyes remained closed but he almost laughed at her words…how in God’s name did she know what he meant by that…

"—Cecil, we can’t just stand back and watch…"

It struck Cecil that now it was not a young, helpless child speaking to him…in her words he could hear, he could see what her mother must have been…from her voice he saw everything in her that had come from her mother…and he knew her mother must have been strong…he knew her mother must have been brave…her mother was wise and unselfish and caring and determined and…

God, Rydia was too bright for such a young child…

After a terribly long and uncomfortable silence, Edward spoke…

"Golbez has three of the crystals –"

A pause…

"—Which means he only has one more to get…before –"

He was not sure how to finish the statement…so he didn’t…

"—But I –"

"Excuse me, sir –"

The voice of one of the clerics interrupted Edward…

"—Shouldn’t you lie down?"

She approached Cecil, her face etched with concern…It took a moment for Cecil’s numb mind to absorb what she had said and he realized that she was speaking to him…It took even longer for him to shake his head and fumble carelessly for an explanation but she seemed satisfied so she continued, slightly bashful:

"…You…are…Cecil, aren’t you…?"

He nodded, a bit surprised and confused…how do these people know me? I’m just one of the injured…one of many…His response obviously thrilled her as she sighed with relief…

"Thank goodness!"

Cecil frowned but listened to her intently…

"…Someone asked to see you…it seemed urgent. I told him no one was allowed in the hospital now –"

This she said while staring at Rydia and Edward with raised eyebrows.

"—Due to the spread of disease and over-crowding of the –"

Edward flushed as he hurriedly replied:

"We…were…on our way…out..."

He quickly took Rydia’s hand and turned to leave.

"Wait –"

Cecil leaned forward earnestly, his hand extended to the woman.

"—I’m fine…they can stay in here --"

He seemed a little distracted as he motioned for Edward and Rydia to return…and the cleric started to object but hesitated…Cecil spoke again:

"--Really…it’s okay…"

With a small sigh she finally nodded, but her worried frown quickly turned to a rueful smile…

"…I should not allow –"

"Who wanted to see me, ma’am…?" Cecil interrupted her inconspicuously, so she couldn’t change her mind…

"You said that someone wanted to see me…"

"Yes sir –" she agreed. "—But I…"

"Tell him to come in if he will –" Cecil insisted. "—I’m okay…you said it was urgent, didn’t you?"

She woman looked at him and wondered if she should have even come here in the first place…but it was useless to persuade him otherwise…

"Yes sir –" she sighed at long last. "—I shall tell him to come in…"

Cecil nodded thankfully and stared at the floor as she made her way out of the crowded room…Edward bowed politely as she walked by and disappeared into a crowd of people…When she was gone, Edward hurried to Cecil’s side:

"Do you suppose it is…Yang?"

"Yang?"

Cecil looked at Edward in surprise.

"Does that mean…he’s –"

Edward was nodding.

"Oh yes...certainly…I’ve seen Master Yang several times since you…became ill…he has been quite passive…I suppose that is the only way to describe it…"

Cecil scowled…

"—He is very distraught over the King’s condition –" Edward explained. "—He has spent many hours by the king’s side –"

Cecil nodded…

"—He was crushed to see what happened to Fabul…it came as quite a shock to most people…"

"We should have come sooner," Cecil stated resolutely…regretfully…he started to say more when a familiar voice rang over the hushed voices in the hospital:

"Sir Cecil!"

Cecil looked up quickly to see the dark-skinned warrior striding toward him…This time the man was no more a stranger than Cecil’s own mother would have been…the warrior had several strips of cloth tied around his ridged waist and his brawny arms; and his long black braid drooped from his bald head and dangled limply over one shoulder

(like a serpent)

Cecil shuddered at the thought…he frowned as Yang nodded a greeting to Edward and flipped the thick coil of hair over his bald head…he extended a hand to Cecil…

"Sir Cecil –"

He clasped Cecil’s hand warmly.

"--You have recovered well, I hope…?"

"…Y-yes –" Cecil stammered, quite taken aback…Recover? What are they talking about? I wasn’t sick...

"—But…what about…his Majesty…? I heard that --"

Cecil’s voice trailed off as he watched Yang lower his head, shaking it slowly…

"I have been there at his side...for the past several days –"

His dark eyes strayed to the floor…

"—There is little…improvement…"

Edward turned to the warrior in disbelief.

"You...don’t mean –"

"His condition has not worsened, I do not think –" Yang replied quickly. "—It is, I suppose –" He paused thoughtfully. "—A stalemate, if you will…"

But what does that mean to him? Cecil argued silently…what if he heard you say that? He believes he’s going to be well…You can’t say it’s a stalemate…there’s always improvement…

"Master Yang –"

Suddenly Edward stepped forward urgently…

"—Golbez has three of the four crystals --"

Uncertain pause…

"—That means he lacks just one…"

Yang nodded, his brow creased deeply…

"That one being the crystal of Earth…"

Cecil shook his head…

"But what can he do when he gets all of them?" he persisted. "—The crystals are supposed to be physical symbols of the elements!"

He emphasized the word ‘symbols’ so they would see the point he was trying to make…symbols…don’t you see? They don’t mean anything…but deep down something contradicted him…

(beyond comprehension)

Edward nodded…he only half-agreed with Cecil…

"—They were just…gifts…given to the four oldest nations in the world several centuries ago..."

No one spoke…No one needed to…The words were spoken clearly in the silence…

…But now something is happening and the crystals do mean something and they are not just gifts anymore they’re a whole lot more…

Cecil gave a small helpless laugh...God how often had he done that in the past week?

"---They’re supposed to represent the balance of the elements –" he declared simply. "—The crystals don’t have any power…they’re just useless pieces of rock!"

His last word seemed to linger for much longer than expected…it mocked him…rock…? Do you call what happened back there the useless work of a rock?! Didn’t you feel the power of the crystal? Didn’t you feel the power of that rock?!

(do you want to feel the power of it and see the power of it, Cecil?)

(the power of it)

(the useless power of it)

"Maybe –"

Yang placed his hand on his chin, musing.

"—Maybe that’s what we were taught to believe –"

Cecil cast a sidelong glance at him as he continued:

"—I think that there are three possibilities –"

Cecil frowned…whatever the warrior was going to say would be quite interesting…three possibilities? As far as he could see, there was only one possibility…Golbez was going to capture the crystals…he would make sure that Cecil didn’t live much longer…the other nations would be destroyed…the world would be destroyed…end of story…a fairy tale ending…

"Go on, Master Yang –" Edward stated, staring intently at Yang. "—You have my attention…"

"—The first thing –" Yang counted on his fingers. "—Is that perhaps we were never meant to realize the power of the crystals…We all saw what the crystal of Air could do –"

Cecil grimaced…he thought he noticed Edward flinch as if feeling the shock of the lightning again…

"—If that power fell into the wrong hands –"

"Which has already happened…" Edward stated off-handedly…

"—Then the tragedies of Damcyan and…Fabul…will only be the beginning –"

Cecil nodded…he was suddenly feeling dizzy…

"—It could include several countries or several nations…I see why the power should have been kept a secret –"

"—The second idea –" Yang continued. "—Is that the crystals have always contained special powers, but no one discovered them until now…"

Edward appeared doubtful…

"—It is strange to imagine that someone would even think to try…"

"He’s right –" Cecil agreed quickly. "—What would give someone the idea to steal the crystals and chant some weird magic words while sprinkling faerie dust over them?"

He would have laughed at his silly words under normal circumstances…these circumstances were far from normal…He shook his head…

"--It’s crazy…"

"The works of the Old Ones –" Yang pointed out. "—Are you familiar with any of the Old Ones?"

"Well…of course…" Cecil started a bit too hastily. "—I’ve seen a few…but I –"

(burned them…I burned them to ashes…)

"—Never –"

(meant to burn them…it just happened there…it was all part of this…it just happened…)

…Cecil was thinking about the Great Library of Mysidia…

"Many are written in the tongue of the early millenia –" Yang said. "—The words would mean nothing to us…But the books contain acts and dreams and prophecies and so many other wonders that if we could decipher them, it would be amazing and at the same time disturbing…"

"So –" Edward said, trying to understand the warrior. "You think that there are ones today who can…or have been given the ability to understand the language and –"

"Exactly –" Yang scratched his head. "It must be some sort of God-given ability to decode the language of the ancient tongue…"

"Wait a minute –" Cecil broke in suddenly. "—Are you saying that some evil character like Golbez can get some kind of divine gift of deciphering the language of the Old Ones?"

Cecil leaned back and shook his head.

"Sorry…I’m not understanding this…"

"That monster does seem like an unlikely candidate…" Edward scowled then he shuddered as he thought of Golbez…

"Unless --" Yang continued, his eyebrows raised. "--He received that power from somewhere else…"

They sat in uncomfortable silence for several moments…Rydia was unusually quiet as she slapped at the dirty sheet on Cecil's bed and watched it flap against the bed post…Power from somewhere else…if whoever controlled the power of the crystal also ruled that Somewhere Else then they were in a terrible predicament…

"--Finally --" Yang concluded at last. "--The last condition is that the crystals never had any power…until now…"

"But it makes no sense --" Edward punctuated Yang's words with his arms held out incredulously. "--Who would suddenly take the absurd notion to arm the crystals with such destructive powers?"

"Possibly --" Yang said. "--The same 'someone' who gave Golbez his unusual powers…"

There was awkward silence again…God someone say something…anything…silence is deadly…there's too much to think about with the silence…Everyone looked at each other in confusion…Cecil felt that the entire world was staring at him in that moment…awaiting his command like he was the leader…he didn't want that responsibility…he felt just as helpless as the others…

Yang seemed to understand what Cecil was thinking so he spoke instead, much to Cecil's relief:

"Either way…something extraordinary is going to happen…and Golbez knows exactly what it is…"

"--And --" Edward added. "--He obviously has some role to play…"

The silence fell over them again…it hovered in the room like fog…waiting for a chance to feel any emptiness…any void or crevice…Cecil's head was beginning to throb from the incessant silence…it felt like a tremendous pressure in the back of his eyes…perhaps the light of the crystal had damaged his vision…but he could still think clearly…too clearly…and his thoughts strayed to only one simple truth each time…

"We have to go to Baron…"