Secrets Out:

Chapter 10.

'I can use magic, so what? It's not like it hasn't been seen before....but still, it feels wrong like it's meaning something more than I can detect...but what?' Terra thought walking up a cliff side the next morning. "Terra?" Setzer said sitting down beside her. She sat down and stared into the dawning sun. "They're mad at me aren't they...?" She said mechanically. "I believe the word you're looking for is confused." He took off his jacket and put it around her noticing the tiny shudders, but it wasn't from cold, it was fear. "Terra, why didn't you tell us that you..." The words wouldn't come out of his mouth, so she finished his thought. "....Still have magic?" She bundled herself in his coat and continued looking at the sunrise. "I thought it all disappeared back then, that you were a full human?" He watched her face to make sure he wasn't over stepping the conversation. "Oh Setzer," she sniffled and leaned against him lying on his shoulder. "Why didn't it go away? Why didn't it leave my body? Why aren't I normal?" "sshh," He hushed her rubbing her shoulder. "Terra-...? Terra do you remembered when I told you about my air ship? My....need to fly?" She nodded. "Well it's destiny now, my destiny, just like all the others have their destiny's.....and having magic-...being part Esper....is yours....." She shook her head wiping tears, "you're just afraid, but you know in your heart that you're not, and you'll do this...you can do this." She began to straighten herself up as it sank in. "You're right, I can do it, if I believe I can, if you guys believe I can?" She said moving herself away of him. "We do," he replied with a smile he glanced over his shoulder and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, then stood up. "Now, I have to be off. See you, Terra." He ran a distance and she called to him. "Wait!" He stopped and turned around. "What about your coat?!" She asked. "Keep it!" He yelled over his shoulder waving as he left. She smiled to herself yanking it on tighter. 'Setzer?' She had a thought back to the day the world was coming to an end, they were scared- the air ship had broken in half it from a blast, and he tried to save her, he held on as tight as he could but they were both blown off. Why hadn't she kept a hold of his hands? Terra stood up and began to walk back to the air ship with the others.

* * *

In Thamasa. "I made it," Relm said relaxing. "and not a scratch on me." She laughed happily and ran for her grandpa's house. "Grandpa!?" She shouted up the stairs. "You awake?!" She stomped noisily upstairs. "Grandpa.....?" He was asleep, his matron looked over at him and silenced her. "Is he alright?" She nodded but it seemed forced along with a smile. Relm walked over to the bed and stared down at him, he didn't look very healthy to her. His skin was pale, very pale, and he was hardly breathing. "Oh gramps..." she was starting to wish she hadn't come here at all and she'd just stayed and fought with the others. "I'm going out for some medicine, seems like herbs are hard to find now a days, will you watch your grandpa Relm?" The woman asked. "uh-huh." She sat down on the chair next to his bed and watched him sleep; as the matron left the room she turned back with a frown at the sight of it then left. 'I know....you'll be ok.' She thought solemnly and patted his fading hand. Someone was watching her again and as they moved closer she heard the creak on the stairs making her jump from the start'. "Whose there?!" She jumped up looking around. "Show yourself, don't make me paint your picture!" She stared into the darkness a little scared. "Wait! Gua no want get hurt from friend, Relm." The boy came from the shadows on all fours. "Gua," she sighed out. "what are you doing here?" "Gua run," he began into a story with a flash back to what happened. "Friends get attacked, Gua fall down- roll away, when Gua come back, fight over and friends gone....Gua go back to last places Gua remember, but can't find way in castle, Gua go back to boat place, man take him to Nikea, Gua see friend Relm, Gua follow her and be here." "Oh...." She said returning back to her seat by the bed. "This Relm grandpa, still?" Gua asked looking down over the man in the bed. "You know I never undertsand you when you talk- at all!" Relm shouted. "You mean friend, Gua wish never came, Gua leaving." The boy turned and walked away. 'So go on then,' Relm thought with a slight sniffle. 'I don't need anyone here sympathizing me, no one at all.' She began to cry into the pillow on the bed. A shadow moved behind her in the darkness, had Gua really left?

* * *

"Come on, you guys. We have to get going..." Edgar yelled to everyone that strayed the camping location. Setzer walked up to Edgar and pulled him away from the group. "What are we going to to do about Terra and her secret?" He whispered. "I'm not sure....we'll have to wait it out I guess, come on old man." He patted his shoulder and walked away. They all boarded the air ship and began to take off. "Where to?" Setzer asked. "We should fly around for a while and look for any soldiers that escaped last night...I'm think some of them may have gotten away." Edgar said to them sitting down at Setzer's desk. "Or worse someone was standing around watching the whole thing and they went to tell their new master. I mean, a guy wounded would take a while but some by stander could easily get there." Sabin said. They all thought about the possibilty that they were found out. "So the question is....what do we do now?" Terra asked her eyes scanned the room for the answer when she looked at Setzer his attention was out the window, she looked down a little dismayed.

* * *

Imperiel Vector. "Sir, we're sorry to report sir but our maps were stolen from the hide out," The figure cocked its head at his soldier and in a shiver he continued. "the returners may be on to us now." He backed away hiding his face from what he thought would come next. The figure just smiled behind the shadows. "You know what to do." A deep, evil voice emerged from it. "Yes, sir!" The soldier saluted proudly and turned around to alert the other men. "Oh! and one more thing." a shrill voice came and with the push of a button the man had been killed. "Make ready for the attack." It ordered another soldier and he rushed away. "Soon Terra my lovely, very soon." The man took to the air at the sound of command.

Chapter 11.

In the center of the room Locke was fiddling with a pair of dice on the table rolling it three times. 'Snake eyes.' He thought. 'Snake eyes.' Again. 'Snake eyes, what are these fixed?' He picked them up and squinted through the red coloring. 'Now's my chance,' Celes thought walking away from the group to be near Locke. "Hi, Locke." She said getting next to him and taking a piece of dice from his hand. "Oh, hey Celes," he said with a bright smile. "Your group thing go okay?" "Well we lost Relm and Shadow." She mumbled out then smiled at him. 'Just say it.' She coached herself. 'You know he likes you.' She had a flash of the Opera House performance she had done, when he'd seen her in that dress and made him blush.

"Confrence." Edgar announced steering everyone to a table. They pulled up a chair and sat down. "Well, we so far know that we've been found out,-..." Edgar was saying and being interupted by Locke. "Well, we think they know." Edgar gave him a look and continued. "They could alert their boss and be on us, so report. What did you're group accomplish? How far ahead are we in this war?" He looked to the left where Sabin, Setzer, and Celes were sitting. "Well to be precise, we uh....," Sabin began and ended weakly. "we lost Shadow and Relm from the start." He shrugged. "How could you lose them?!" Edgar exploded in panic. "Shadow, sure. He can take care of himself, but Relm she's a little girl." "Hey! Don't you go starting in on us, we noticed that Gua isn't exactly with you either!" Sabin shot back. "Touche." Edgar mumbled. "Well, I guess that's another matter, then. I'm sure they're very capable of taking care of themselves." They lost the tension that had just passed and eased back into conversation. "Have you found anything out, secured any areas?" He questioned them. "Setzer, pay attention." Celes ordered. "Give him the maps." "Do you hear a buzzing sound?" He asked ignoring her completely. "I don't hear anything." Edgar said. "That's you're ship, man. You think you'd be used to it by now." Locke said trying to rush the confrence. Setzer tossed them the maps and walked away to go on the top deck. "Alright, lets have a look." They leaned across the table for a look at the  map. 'I know what my ship sounds like, and that awful buzzing is something else.' He thought as he reached the ladder climbing to the deck, when he got out there he saw nothing, and it was quiet. ".........!?" His senses were up and then came the attack!

Down below. "Look at this little red 'X' under Vector, sirs...What doths thou think it means?" Cyan asked pointing to it. "Must be the base, it has to be," Locke was saying moving around to get closer. "You think maybe we should go there and check it out?" "Wouldn't hurt." Edgar said. "Whao!!!" Their yells went up. "Setzer!" Sabin was shouting into the air. "Keep this thing straight!" The next rumble felt more like an impact than air turbulance. "What's going on up there?" They said the same, but, not together.

Setzer flew the ship faster through the skies. He Slid away from the control panel and walked to the point of the ship looking at the situation moving his sleeve he waved his hand over his slot watch summoning a command but they fired! He jumped out of the way getting his hand burned. "Ah!" He moved his sleeve up reaching for his watch again but-... "Damn, it's broken." He said to himself and he threw it off. "Can't do it by hand." "Than how's about some assistance?" Locke said, Setzer turned to see the group standing behind him. "Am I ever glad to see you guys, my watch is-...." His words froze as he felt a familiar vibration run through him. 'Couldn't be?' He thought. The others had gone into battle already and so far, so good. Terra freely used her magic on the Skyfires. Fire! The blast knocked out at least two  and had taken some damage on one. "I'm gonna miss you." Locke said to his Hawke eye tossing it into one of the robots vents knocking it out of the sky. "Party time!" He shouted. Sabin used his Blitz along side Cyan, his Fire Dance taking out the one guys Terra had hit completely and done size-able damage to others. The Robots aimed and fired breaking a hole in the ships deck, two more opened fire and knocking against Celes's sheild. It bashed her against the railing. "Uh!" "You alright, Celes?" Edgar asked running to assistance, he pulled out his new Bio Blaster shooting acid sludge through the sky landing on two of the robots. With out warning everyone felt revived, they looked to Terra but she shrugged shaking her head. They figured it was just just a sudden burst of energy and kept fighting. Setzer tossed a full deck off cards at one of them, it cut through the metal knocking him out of the air. Without warning a heard of Chocobo's flew into the air at the Skyfires, but gave no damage to the machines. "Setzer, what in the world is going on?!" Edgar shouted over the comotion. "I'm not sure," He was saying, tossing another deck of cards. "But I think my slot may be misfunctioning and all the attacks are coming out in their order." He dodged a blast. "Lets see what else I'm made of," Terra said to herself. "Fire 3!" A fire shower came crashing down on the robots taking them out but more kept coming. The atmosphere shifted and his 7-Flush came up through the sky blasting them to bits. But the robots kept returning. "There's just no end to these guys!" Edgar said changing to his new Spit Drill. "You guys, get down!" Setzer shouted and as if everything had gone in slow motion explosions went into the air, not just on the rest of the robots, but on his ships enginees, and Edgar's weapons as well. The sky turned red and the ship began to fall............

......To Be Continued