~/*VII*\~/*VI*\~/*VII*\~/*VI*\~

Locke's hand quickly shot out to steady himself on the cool gray stone, glancing about quickly to determine the source of the thunderous noise.

"Something's coming out of the wall!" yelled Celes, drawing her sword. The thief stared at the patch of wall ahead where more and more rocks began tumbling to the floor, stalactites breaking off and shattering on the stone below. Soon enough, the wall crumbled beneath the great force, revealing a large machine sporting two claw-like drills that glinted in the watered-down light. It emerged from the wall with a final roar, tracking towards the two slowly but steadily. "Tunnel Armor," the Magitek Knight confirmed with a grimace. "One of the Empire's weapons."

Locke alternated glancing between the machine and the comparatively tiny dagger that he gripped tightly in his hands. The two found themselves being backed up down their previous path, as they looked for any sort of opening. "Have any ideas for defeating it?" he shouted back.

He looked over briefly to see Celes still fixated on their enemy. "A few...Hn!" Celes grunted as she and Locke dove in opposite directions to avoid the claw that had shot out and crunched into the wall behind them, sending down a shower of dust and rock.

Thinking quickly, Locke leapt onto the arm of the claw as it dislodged itself from the stone. Knife in hand, he ran swiftly to the machine's main body, digging his knife into the circuits and connecting tubes that were exposed in the arm's joint. Electricity crackled and sparked as the thief retrieved his weapon, feeling the jolt of it travel in a wave through his body. Gasping as he hit the ground, Locke rolled somewhat clumsily as the enemy lurched forward in an attempt to run him over.

He found himself near Celes again, who had already frozen the other drill arm with a Blizzard spell. Now both arms had been drawn in, and to Locke's surprise, the spark of electricity only seemed to intensify, gathering in the front of the machine. "Stay away!" Celes yelled, holding out her hand as he ran towards her. He skidded to a stop. "I can draw its magic attack with my Runic Blade!"

"What? Will you be okay?"

She dropped into a ready stance, eyes again fixed on her opponent. "Just you watch!"

No sooner had she finished speaking when a loud crackling was heard, and the gathered magic was released into the tunnel. Celes held up the sword high above her head, and a flash of light ran through it. The spell streaked towards her, lightning arching through the air before connecting with the blade with a snap of thunder. Through the following flash of light, Locke could see a green glow much like a Cure surround Celes while the magic was absorbed, and a few of the cuts she had received closed up and disappeared.

The Magitek Knight broke the trance Locke seemed to be in by rushing forward again and hacking at the joint of the arm she had frozen. He attempted to get back in the fray by jumping onto the Tunnel Armor's main body, but was knocked to the ground with a pained grunt by the twitching arm that was trying to get at Celes.

She saw it coming just in time, dodging away so that it tore across her shoulder rather than skewer her with its drill. She let out a sharp cry and stumbled back, hand hovering over the injury as if unsure whether to apply pressure. The thief's attention snapped to her, and he called her name as he got to his feet.

"Locke!" she yelled, making sure he met her eyes. She then tossed her sword with a short underhand throw, and he ducked under the whirling drill to catch it. The drill then bore down on him, and he raised the sword on instinct. It grated against the side of the drill for a moment, making his heart catch in his throat and wild sparks fly. Then he pushed off it and nearly got run over again before he realized that the thick tire was incased in ice. He stopped and looked at Celes, who nodded once before firing another spell at the last remaining drill arm.

Using the frozen part as leverage, Locke swung himself onto the top of the Magitek Tunnel Armor, and drove the sword deep into the wires and sensitive machinery within.

The Armor shook and sputtered, lurching a bit before smoking and lying still. Soon the only sound was the steady drip of water, loose stone fragments falling, and the now heavier breathing of the two companions.

Celes' shuffling footsteps echoed as she sat again by the underground spring, green light washing over her as a Cure spell took effect. Locke came to crouch a few feet away from her, looking her over with concern. "You okay?" he asked as he slid the sword back over to her. "Thanks for letting me borrow, by the way."

"I'll be fine," she replied, raising her chin a bit. She reaching out to reclaim her sword but stopped with a wince at the pain the movement caused her shoulder. "Tore through the muscle," she said, catching Locke's look. "The Cure did most of the work, so it'll heal on its own in no time." Just to be safe, she cast another Cure, and ignoring the twinge this time, Celes sheathed her sword and stood. "We already rested. Let's go."

Locke took a few steps towards the exit before turning back and frowning a bit. "Are you sure? That was a nasty cut."

Celes almost shrugged before she thought better of it. "I've had worse. I was a general, after all." She began to climb over the half-frozen Tunnel Armor, glancing back at Locke with an ever-so-slight smile. "Come on, let's hurry to Narshe!"

Returning the smile, Locke nodded vigorously and followed her out of the cave and into the bright sunlight, feeling the weight on his chest ease as they emerged from the oppressive tunnels. Now they just had to reach Narshe in time to warn the others...

~/*VII*\~/*VI*\~

There was one thought that blessedly blocked out all the less desirable ones from Cloud's mind. It was a hot day. The sun shone unhindered in the summer sky...or at least that's what the prisoner could assume. The heat dried the ground, which rose in clouds of dust at the trampling of feet. Cloud shifted his dry tongue around in his mouth, trying to alleviate the taste of dirt and the painful sore throat he was quickly developing. The soldiers had not delivered any food or drink yet that day. He deduced that, yet again, something big was going down. It was only later that day when he found out what. General Leo's new assault team had come back defeated yet again.

Only then did the lack of visits from Kefka send a shiver down Cloud's spine.

~/*VII*\~/*VI*\~

The gradual transition from the tickle of grass to the crunch of snow heralded the near proximity of Narshe, the Coal Mining City. Banon led the way as Terra followed, Edgar bringing up the rear with his Tools at the ready, crossbow pointed into the swirling mists of snow around them. "See those lights up ahead?" said the leader of the Returners, pointing to the many vague dots glowing on the mountainside above while turning his head to look back at them. "We're almost there!"

Terra smiled a bit at the sense of familiarity that washed over her. Here was something that she actually remembered and recognized. Now she could at least thank that man who had helped her before. Arvis, she reminded herself, clinging to the information like she did with everything else left in her mind.

Soon the small pinpricks of light grew into crackling fires, and cookie-cutter light streamed from the rectangular windows. The arch that now loomed before them marked the entrance into the town, and was the only gap in a high fence that branched off to either side, ending where the mountain terrain rose steeply in both directions.

Five guards could be seen just inside the arch, two standing guard and three sitting nearby, sipping steaming drinks and talking amongst themselves by the fire. However, all of them snapped to attention when the three Returners came into sight and out of the swirling snow.

Edgar put on his most charming smile and placed his Tools back in its place on his belt. "Greetings, my friends! You have an inn where we can stay the night?"

One of the guards was about to answer when he caught sight of Terra. He immediately froze, his whole demeanor turning as icy and angry as he surrounding landscape. "It's her!" he shouted, pointing an accusing finger and drawing his rifle with his other hand. "It's the Imperial soldier!"

Seeing the situation quickly spiral out of hand, Edgar stepped in front of Terra and spread his arms in what he hoped was a pacifying gesture. "She most certainly is not! This woman is with us, the Returners!"

For all his efforts, Edgar only got two rifles aimed directly at him. "Narshe is a neutral city!" One of the guards replied. "We want nothing to do with either!"

Banon chose that point to cut in. "Surely you have had more Returners enter the city recently?"

The guards glared at him. "If so, they've done so against the will of Narshe's law enforcement."

Edgar's eyes narrowed. "But you're still under Figaro's jurisdiction."

The guard let out a short guffaw. "Not like anyone's here to enforce that!"

"I am the King of Figaro!"

"Yeah, and I'm Emperor Gesthal."

By that time at least four other guards had arrived at the entrance. Banon took Edgar and Terra by the shoulder and began to lead them away. Edgar looked back at the entrance contemptuously and saw them still staring at them, making sure that the intruders were leaving. "You know, we still need to get into Narshe, Banon."

"But not that way!" shot the Returner. "We're lucky that Terra wasn't arrested on the spot."

Terra looked at the ground, not meeting her companion's eyes. "I'm so sorry. You'd be able to get in if not for me."

Banon hardly glanced at her before shaking his head. "We'll just have to find another way."

It took a moment, but Terra's eyes suddenly brightened. "Locke and I escaped Narshe through the mine tunnels! If I could remember where the hidden exit is..."

Edgar snapped his fingers. "...we'll be free to come and go as we wish!" He laughed and winked at Terra. "I do love a woman with beauty and brains." The green-haired girl blushed and looked at the ground as Banon cuffed the young king on the back of the head.

Yeah, yeah. I know it's way too short to make up for a two-month-long wait. The worst part is that I can't promise a faster update this time. But on the upside, the Locke and Celes scenario is done, so I can definitely promise that next chapter is the moment we (or at least I) have been waiting for. :) Can somebody say, "Cloud"? ;)

I know that everyone says this, but I do appreciate every little review I get, and the more I get, the more I'll be inspired to write. I'm a very vain and fragile author! Lol. I need a ton of backup to keep a project going. If I didn't have my best friend calling me every other day and coercing me to work on my original story, it never would've gotten past the first few chapters. So what I'm saying is...I need your help! All of you readers out there! I have great plans, but I'm scraping the bottom of the inspiration barrel. I don't want to give up on this yet!

One last question- Do you think having a beta reader will motivate me to get chapters done faster? Or are they just for sending in a chapter to get proofread? Is it too late to get one? (I'm considering finding a beta reader, obviously. :) )

See you guys again soon, I hope! Maybe Cloud will inspire me to write faster...I want him in the action so badly!