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~*~ Chapter Three ~*~

The girl was standing there, waiting at the gangplank of the ship, ready to finally walk on solid land again after all the days out at sea. The Soldiers were eager to be off the ship and catch the scent of air that wasn't salty, and be rid of the sound of the waves that still echoed in their ears. The sailors were unloading the cargo: the MagiTek Armor machines that they would need to fulfill their mission. A group of soldiers that had been notified of their coming had been waiting at the port to offer assistance.

It would take an hour at most to move the machines, and after that they could assume their piloting seats and be off to Narshe. After that, they would move much more quickly, their easy mission would be over before they knew it. Or so they hoped.

Wedge and Vicks assisted the crew hauling the machines, while the girl sat on the edge of the pier, waiting, staring into the dirty water below. With so many men hauling the machines, the work was done in no time. The crew tested the machines' engines and checked their gears for any damage during the transport. Finding none, they all went back to their separated duties, and the Captain gave Wedge and Vicks the signal that their machines were ready.

They called the girl over and helped her get situated in the machine she was piloting, then each man climbed into their own respective MagiTek Armor machine. Now there was no way that they wouldn't call attention to themselves. Thankfully, at least they didn't have to go to any more towns other than Narshe after they were out of South Figaro. Both the men and the girl manipulated their controls and started the machines into gear. They sputtered and screeched, and their gears began spinning and grinding, a familiar sound to all their ears. Vicks took the lead with his machine, moving it through and out of the town, followed by the girl and Wedge. They didn't pay much attention to the happenings of the town as they trampled through it in their machines; they'd seen South Figaro enough times before.

After leaving South Figaro, they had a two and a half-day's travel north in the machines before they would reach the mountains south of Narshe. They'd stop there briefly and take a look at the town from the summit of the mountain. After that they'd have another short travel to reach the town itself. Then, they'd invade.

The journey was silent and uneventful. They reached the mountains without delay. Wedge and Vicks had momentarily dismounted their machines to get a view of Narshe before actually executing their mission. They left the girl piloting her machine; she'd be safe enough alone.

The view of Narshe from the mountain was perfect. They could see the entire expanse of the town quite well. Narshe was built entirely in the side of the mountains, which was why it was so easy for them to find coal there. It was extremely cold this far north, though, and Wedge and Vicks pulled their heavy leather coats close for warmth. Vicks stepped out close to the edge of the mountainside, scrutinizing the view of Narshe.

"There's the town…" He trailed off as if he didn't know what to say next. Wedge stepped up beside him and looked out over the expanse of the mountains.

"You know, it's hard to believe an Esper's been found there…after all these years. According to Kefka, it's at least a thousand years old…"

Vicks nodded. "Why is he interfering with all of these things? Personally, I think it's more trouble than it's worth…and the danger involved…" Wedge shifted his weight uneasily and sighed.

"Sometimes I think that if he'd never laid his hands on the girl, then everything would be different. But then again, maybe he's insane enough to have done it without her."

"I don't know, Wedge, but I'll be glad when it's all over." He turned around to avert his face from the biting cold wind blowing on the mountaintop. He stared at the ground, and then glanced at Wedge. "You know, there's something I heard…"

"About what?" Vicks didn't answer, and realization dawned on Wedge. "It's the girl, isn't it? God only knows what rumors are flying around about her."

"Well, I heard, from…well, it doesn't matter who I heard it from. It's just that what I heard was that…"

"Vicks, say it, I'm not going to bite you for God's sake."

Vicks shuffled about uneasily and pulled his leather coat as close as he could around him. "That she fried fifty of our MagiTek Armored soldiers in less than three minutes."

Wedge paused for a long moment. He looked at his friend with a serious expression on his face. "You know what? I wouldn't doubt it at all. Not with this girl." His partner nodded numbly.

"Don't worry, that crown she's wearing is robbing her of any thoughts she might have. She'll do what we tell her." Wedge started to walk down the face of the mountain; he was freezing, and ached to get back to the warmth of his machine. "Come on, Vicks, it's freezing, you'll catch pneumonia. And besides, our job is almost done." Vicks nodded, following Wedge down the side of the mountain.

It wasn't a hard climb, and they were both grateful to get back to the warmth of their MagiTek Armor machines. It had begun to snow heavily on their descent down the mountain. The girl was still there, as expected, atop her machine. The two men climbed back into their piloting seats. Vicks spoke into the intercom to the side of the control panel that gave some connection through all three machines.

"You ready, Wedge?" Wedge gave an affirmative reply. They didn't bother asking the girl. She was always ready.

Vicks again took the lead in the trek to Narshe. His visibility was greatly impaired by the snow, but he could see enough that he knew where he was going. Wedge and the girl followed his large machine easily in the blinding snow. By the time they reached Narshe, the snow had let up substantially; only a flurry of flakes was left falling down from the cloudy sky. They stopped right before entering the town. Of course by now, Narshe would have posted their sentries and called for reinforcements, but it didn't matter. They couldn't defend against the MagiTek machines.

They ordered the girl to go forward. Due north from the town entrance was the main entrance to the mines. From there they could easily find the Esper with the directions that had been given them. The girl took the lead, piloting her machine through the town's entrance.

Half a dozen soldiers stood there, but proved no more resistance than ants, and were as easy to crush. The girl punched in a few commands on the control panel and a large metal plate slid up from the front of the machine. Boiling white fire screamed from the open panel and consumed the flesh of the men standing guard. Four of them were instantly melted into oozing piles of scorched flesh and blood. The two remaining were not directly hit by the beam of fire, and were only badly burned. They screamed in pain, falling to their knees on the ground.

Wedge and Vicks made no move to take care of the two still living men. The girl would do it. They hated using the magic powers of the machines, and let the girl do it for them unless they absolutely had to aid her. They saw her punch another combination of buttons on the panel, and a second metal plate slid from the front of the machine. This time, liquid white fire did not emerge, but a spray of white and blue light.

When the light had faded, the living men looked as if they were statues carved of ice. Their bodies were completely frozen solid in blocks of the solid blue ice. Immediately following the ice spray, the girl punched one last series of buttons on the control panel. Yet another metal plate slid aside, and this one launched a small missile at the frozen men. The ice shattered like glass with the impact, and the men broke into thousands of pieces.

Wedge and Vicks couldn't imagine a more horrible way to die.

They marched north through the town, taking down at least a dozen men and half a dozen trained guard dogs. Each time they were confronted, the girl would push the buttons on the control panes and annihilate the attackers. They could hear the Narshe soldiers' battle cries as they charged towards the machines, even though they knew that they'd be killed. Screams of "Defend the mines!" and "Protect Narshe!" echoes in Wedge and Vicks' ears as they plowed through more and more soldiers. They reached the mines in no time at all.

The three stopped at the entrance of the mines to further instruct the girl. They put her on follow, rather than give her all of the directions to where the Esper lay inside. Vicks took up the lead, followed by the others.

"Watch out in here, Vicks, you don't know what kind of creatures they've got in here. They wouldn't leave the Esper unguarded."

"Will do. It shouldn't be too long before we get where we're going."

They descended into the depths of the mines. It was dark, the only light coming from dim torches placed on the walls by workers. The air was heavy with coal dust, and the ground was coated with a layer of it. Passageways spread out in all directions, lined with steel tracks for mining carts. Following the directions of the officer who had briefed them on their mission, they found the correct passages without much difficulty.

As they rounded the corner of the passageway that would lead them to the frozen Esper, they found a heavily sealed gate. These suits could easily break it down, but it would keep out anyone else who wasn't supposed to be there. Vicks motioned the girl to come over and break down the wall. She took a step forward and pushed a few buttons on the control panel. The machine jerked forward and she slammed into the sealed gate. It collapsed in a loud noise and cloud of dust.

Vicks and Wedge examined the passageway once it was cleared. As they walked through the passage, chunks of loosened rock clattered down on their machines. The passageway was barely large enough for them to squeeze through, but they finally were able to see a dim ray of light, signaling the end of the passageway.

They emerged from the passageway covered in coal dust, but otherwise untouched. Wedge took over Vicks' lead and slowly took in the large chamber they were in. The room was not pitch black, yet no torches were on the walls to give light. It was a moment before he realized that the light was coming from another source.

The Esper.

It was quite a ways up ahead, but from where they stood at the mouth of the passageway, they could see a large chunk of ice that was emitting a soft, blue glow. Wedge was entranced by the glow, and slowly moved closer. This was what they had come to retrieve for Kefka.

At the sight of that blue glow, Vicks' eyes widened in fear and amazement. He remembered the glow that the girl had displayed, and couldn't help thinking that the two glows were very similar…He couldn't imagine what could be causing that glow, but he followed Wedge closer to the…thing…

After what seemed like forever, they finally reached the frozen Esper. The three of them stood only half a dozen feet from the creature. It was entirely encased in solid ice…eerily emitting that soft glow. It looked…like nothing they'd ever seen before.

The entire mass was about ten or so feet high. The creature alone measured about seven or eight feet tall, encased in nearly two solid feet of ice. The ice didn't melt; it was cold enough in this part of the mine for it to stay frozen. The creature was nothing like anything they'd ever seen. It wasn't human…though some parts of it vaguely resembled human features. It looked more birdlike than anything else. It had huge wings in place of arms, covered in multicolored feathers. Its face had a large, sharp beak, and it's legs ended in talons.

The eyes of the soldiers were wide with stark amazement. As they gaped at the creature, the girl pushed forward until she was a scant twelve inches from the frozen Esper. Before Wedge and Vicks could stop her, she climbed out of her MagiTek Armor and reached out to the creature encased in ice.

Wedge was the first to notice that the girl had slipped the armor. "Grab her! Don't let her touch it!!" Vicks heard the urgent order and snapped out of his trance.

The soldiers quickly jumped out of their seats and ran towards the girl to grab her back from the thing. They had no idea if her touching it could cause some sort of reaction. But they weren't fast enough to stop her.

As soon as she laid her fingertips on the on the ice that the creature was encased in, a bright flash filled the cave, blinding the soldiers. They fell to their knees in pain, seeing bright spots before their eyes.

"Damn it! I knew we shouldn't have let her touch it!" Wedge yelled between grunts of pain.

"We've got to get her away from it!" Vicks crawled towards her on his knees, holding his head in his hands. As they stumbled about, trying to regain their balance and sight, the Esper encased in ice let out a blood-curdling screech. Shards of ice flew from the creature's prison and were smashed into a fine powder in mid-air. They rained down on the two soldiers, leaving them with a sleet-like covering of ice. They tried to brush it off, but the cold numbed their fingers and slowed their blood flow. They became sluggish and tired, falling to the ground.

Terrified, using the last of their energy, they looked up at the Esper and the girl. She had both of her palms pressed up against the ice, and her eyes were wide. She was jerking about as if she was holding a live wire, but her palms stayed flat against the ice. Suddenly, another white flash filled the cave, again blinding the soldiers. They covered their heads with their arms, squirming about on the floor of the cave. While they were blinded, the Esper emitted a strong blue glow and a flow of energy burst from the ice it was encased in.

The energy concentrated and turned bright red, becoming hotter and hotter. Flames licked out from the mass of energy. Then, the entire mass of energy exploded the cave into bursts of fire. The flames licked at the clothing, skin, and hair of the soldiers writhing on the ground. They screamed in agony form the intense blaze. The girl had dropped to her knees, her palms sliding down the ice that, even in the intense fire was not melting. She was untouched by the flames, but still jerked about, not removing her palms from the ice. Her forehead came down and touched the ice above her palms.

At the touch of her forehead to the surface, the slave crown made contact with the frozen mass of ice. It was as if she had lit the fuse of a bomb.

I'm going to die now…but it will all be over. That was the last thought inside Vicks' mind. He blacked out, unconscious, joining his already senseless friend.

Lightning flashed out from the Esper, consuming the girl within it. The soldiers were jolted conscious to let out one last cry of fear and pain before being consumed in the lightning, fried to ash. The girl was left whole and unharmed. She began to glow soft blue, similar to the glow that the Esper had earlier displayed. She felt the lightning surge through the crown around her forehead and disperse through her entire body.

Suddenly, a flash of pain shot through her head. She screamed and went limp, falling to the ground before the Esper. A rumble went through the cave, jostling the ground she lay on. Then, the brilliant light flashed once more, followed by an explosion, blowing the girl out through the passageway leading into the cave, partially closing off the entrance. As she hit the ground, a rock struck the girl on the side of the head. Her entire world went black.

Chapter Four

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