The Melody of a Silenced Harp
				     Chapter Eight: Nuke



	Prince Edge lay unconscious on an operating table, a cold slab of steel in a laboratory filled with gruesome things. On a table beside him lay Rosa, struggling to get away. Doctor Lugae sidled up to the table where Edge lay.
	"Well, Prince, it looks like it's time for you to go. My Master is expecting you." he said remorsefully. He gazed hungrily at Edge's muscle-bound, lithe and grace body.
	"It's too bad. You would have made a wonderful experimental subject." he said sadly, pressing a button. The table with Edge was lowered through a trap door in the floor. He turned to Rosa and flashed an evil grin.
	"You, my dear, will just have to replace him as my guest." he cackled.
	"N-no! Stay away from me, you creep!" Rosa said hotly, struggling even more to get away from her bonds.
	"You're so very beautiful." Lugae informed her. "And when I'm finished with you, I'm afraid your beauty will be slightly tarnished. But think of the power you'll have as my monster!" He threw his head back and cackled evilly. It echoed throughout the chamber. He walked over to a table filled with horrible instruments of torture. He picked up a scalpel.
	"Time to play, my pretty." he laughed. 
	"H-help! Stop!!" Rosa pleaded. Lugae walked over to her, and gazed into her very soul. He raised the scalpel.

	"Stop right there, Lugae!" Rock growled. Lugae squealed and dropped the knife.
	"Y-you!" Lugae gasped. "How did you get in here! Rubicant!!" The doctor looked frantically around for his boss, but Rubicant was nowhere to be found.
	"Rosa!" Cecil cried. Rosa's expression melted into one of relief.
	"Cecil! Please help me!" she cried. Lugae put on an evil grin.
	"No way!" he laughed, hitting a large red button. Rosa's table began to sink into the floor.
	"ROSA!" Cecil shouted desparately, diving for the table. But he was too late. Luca, Kory and Anna dashed into the room.
	"Where's Golbez?" Anna demanded. Lugae laughed again.
	"In the Upper World, as soon as he's finished here." He pressed a remote control button. A large robot in the corner came to life, whirring and clanking.
	"Let's go Balnab!!" the old doctor cried giddily. Cecil drew his sword and Kory began looking around for a weapon. Along the way up the tower, Anna had found a new dress and Luca had a small axe. But Kory had found nothing to suit him.
	Rock jumped up into the air, and pulled out a mace. He swung it around and dented Balnab with it as he landed. Anna began chanting a fire spell. Luca timidly swung her axe, slicing some wires in half. Balnab went haywire. Bolts of electricity flew everywhere. Lugae dived into a corner, frantically pressing his remote in an attempt to control his creation.
	"Kory!" Anna cried, as he was shocked and fell to the floor. She shot flames at the robot, but it only further infuriated it. The silvery abomination spun around faster and faster, threatening to kill them all. Cecil nearly had his head knocked off, but he ducked under the robot, and stabbed its curcuits underneath. Bolts surged through his blade and severely electrocuted him. He flew across the room and hit a wall, blacking out.
	"Luca! Be careful not to get shocked!" Anna cried. The room, being made of fine metal, was becoming a conductor of electricity and so now the air was a virtual thunderstorm. Anna got an idea and ran from the room. She could hear Luca and Rock still fighting Balnab as she filled a rusty bucket with water from a leaky faucet she had seen in the hallway. 
	"Rock, Luca! Get out of the room right now!" she called. They ran out and stood beside her. Luca's brow was drenched with sweat, and even Rock's glowing eyes looked a little worried. 
	"Take cover!" Anna cried, throwing the contents of the bucket at Balnab, and diving aside as the whole laboratory exploded into a shower of flames and sparks. Lugae's robot was no more.
	The three of them went wearily back into the room. Anna began casting healing spells on her comrades. She realized that they had just barely defeated their latest threats. The stakes in Golbez's scheme were becoming much higher.
	Rock walked slowly into the corner where Lugae was hiding. His bloodied body lay dead on the metallic floor. His lab coat was stained crimson. His face was frozen in a look of horror. Rock knelt down and closed the doctor's eyes.
	"R.I.P., you S.O.B." he said darkly before trudging over to where the others were resting.
	"The Upper World....if that's where Golbez is, that means the Crystals were moved there too." Cecil told them. Luca gasped.
	"You seek the Crystals!?" she cried. Anna nodded.
	"Didn't you know that, Luca? Golbez stole them." Anna said.
	"He did not!" Luca protested, frowning. "Except for Bab-il's Crystal, he has none!"
	"Wait! You mean to say that Bab-il has a Crystal?" Cecil said with wide eyes. "We were talking about Mysidia's Crystal and the others."
	"But my father's Crystal----" Luca and Cecil's jaws dropped in unison.
	"The Upper World has Crystals?!"
	"The Under Ground has Crystals???" they both gasped.
	"Of course." Anna explained. "In the real---er, the Upper World, there are four Crystals. Water in Mysidia, Earth in Toroia, Fire in ......in Damcyan, and Air in Fabul." Luca looked at her strangely.
	"We also have four crystals here." explained Luca. "The Dark Crystals. The Mist Crystal in the Sylvan Cave, The Blackness Crystal in Bab-il, The Darkness Crystal in our castle, and the Shadow Crystal in the Sealed Cavern." 
	Luca's face beamed with importance at this. She fingered her necklace, which they now saw had a key on it.
	"This belonged to my mother. It is the only key to the Sealed Cave. Without the Dark Crystals Golbez will never collect them all. So, I hold the key to his plan." the dwarf princess explained in a whisper.

	"Which I'd be obliged if you handed it over to me right now. It would really save me some trouble later." Golbez said in a nasty tone. They all snapped to attention.
	"GOLBEZ!" Anna said, her face turning red with fury. "I've waited too long for this!" She stood up.
	"I have no time for your games, woman. I'm off schedule as it is," Golbez said with a wave of his hand. 
	"GAMES!!!!!!" Anna shouted, seething with rage. 
	"Kill them." Golbez said to Rubicant, who appeared beside him.
	Rubicant paused, but rasied his hands anyway. He shot white hot flames after them.
	"The flames of death! We'll be consumed!!" Luca screamed.
	"Yes, so you know your magic, I've been practicing since you embarrassed me last time." Rubicant laughed. He chanted the most ancient words of fire, the very words themselves burned on his lips. But it was worth it.
	"NUKE." he boomed. Fire particles began to charge in the air around them. The group had no intention of being consumed, so they ran out of the room.
	"Hahahahaha!" Rubicant laughed. "What fun! You can't outrun Nuke!"


	Kain gasped in surprise as he stepped out of the shrine. Fiana was--stone!
	"Fiana!!" he cried, running over to her. He felt her, but it was just cold stone.
	"N-no..." Kain sobbed. Palom and Porom rushed up. They gazed in amazement at his brilliant armor, shining in the sun.
	"Kain, you did it! You---oh gods!" Porom cried, looking toward the shrine, which had unreadable words carved all over it. A few words had started to glow.
	"The fires of Ordeals!" Palom gasped. He tugged on the Holy Dragoon's arm.
	"Dude, we gotta go! NOW! The Nuke'll get us!" he cried, running down the mountain.
	"Come on sis!" he yelled. Porom paused, because Kain wasn't moving. He was staring at the statue.
	Fiana will get consumed by the fire, Kain thought. She'll never see Toroia. No. I promised. She WILL see Toroia.
	"Porom! Cast a barrier around the statue!" he ordered.
	"But I can't!" Porom yelled. The flames were starting to swirl menacingly around the shrine. Any moment they would burst out and consume them all.
	"Try anyway!" Kain said. Porom closed her eyes. Then she opened them.
	"I can't do it!" she cried. Palom fingered a gem in his pocket. He tossed it to Kain.
	"Use this, okay? Just hurry!" he cried.
	"Palom, that's our father's charm!" his sister protested. He shrugged.
	"He won't mind, he's not around anyway! Just GO!" he cried, jumping off a ledge and charging into the cave. Porom shrugged.
	"We have to hurry, sir. Activate it, and let's go!" she cried. The fire was getting larger and moving faster. Kain looked at the charm and nodded. Somehow he knew already how to use it.
	"Reflect!" he shouted, tossing the charm at Fiana's feet. Then he grabbed Porom and dashed after Palom. The nuke set off after them.


	"Cecil, we aren't going to make it! The Nuke's right behind us!!!" Anna screamed as they ran frantically through the Tower. Suddenly, Cecil took a sharp right into a place they had missed before. The others followed. The nuke passed them by, but they knew it would soon right itself.
	"Okay you guys, I can cast level three Ice." Rock said. "I'm gonna stall it so you go ahead." 
	"What! You can't just-" Kory protested.
	"My work here's done anyway," Rock said with a wry wink. "Go now!" The others continued down the narrow hallway, and Rock jumped out into the main passage. Rock concentrated, he had only done this once before. Casting two spells at once was tricky. The Nuke was speeding back at him.
	"Ice Three, Exit!" he cried. The great fireball crashed against a cold wall of ice. Rock could feel the heat melting his flesh, then nothing else as a white light encircled him. He was gone.


	"Hurry up you guys!!!!" Palom shouted. They were almost at the foot of the mountain, but they had had a late start. The Nuke was right on Kain and his sister's heels. The young black mage prayed to himself that the spell would stop once they got off Ordeals. Kain ran faster than he ever had before, holding Porom under one arm. He seemed to have newfound strength and speed. The world fairly whizzed by as he dashed and jumped, hurrying to outrun the greatest fire magic ever. He finally caught up with Palom, and grabbed him too. He could see the grass beyond Ordeals, once they got there they should be safe.
	"Porom, use mother's charm now!" Palom urged. Recognition flickered on her face and she grabbed a whistle from her pocket. She blew one long, sweet note from it. From the vast southern forest flew a flock of Black Chocobos. Kain and the twins boarded three and took off into the sky. They glided out onto the ocean and looked back. The sun was starting to set, and Kain could see the Nuke winding down and vanishing. 

	"Look over here! There's a huge airship!!!" Professor Kory exclaimed. Cecil, Anna, and Luca dashed onto the deck as fast as they could. Cecil grabbed the controls.
	"Can you fly it?" Anna asked, nervously glancing back to where the Nuke would be coming in any second. Cecil started it up.
	"Of course! I commanded the Red Wings, you know!" he cried without thinking.
	"What...you??" Anna gasped. "I didn't think---"
	"Hurry up!" Kory cried as the Nuke blasted through the wall. The airship groaned for a moment, then blasted through a opening to the outside. Something fell onto the airship just as they flew away from Bab-il.
	"What?" Luca screamed.  Edge, the hypnotized prince, slowly moved toward her.
	"Gimme the key, Princess." he said icily.
	"N-no!!" Luca cried. She backed up and then ran behind Anna. The women trembled with fear. They had heard of ninja skills and knew by this man's garb that he was indeed a ninja.
	"Who are you and what do you want?" Kory demanded.
	"I am the ninja warrior, Edge! I am carrying out my master Golbez's wishes!" Edge shouted proudly.
	"Edge...? Not Prince Edge of Eblan?" gasped Anna, her blue dress blowing in the breeze as they sped along.
	"I've heard of you from Edward!" she cried.
	"The Eblan Prince?" Kory exclaimed. "What in Jinn's name are you working for Golbez for? He destroyed Eblan!" Edge drew his katanas.
	"Enough, meddler! Now you die!"


	Tellah was walking along when suddenly he stopped. He felt a surge of extreme heat hit him. His chest was burning, and he didn't know why. He fell to the ground, clutching his gut.
	"Aaaghh..." he moaned. "The fire....." Randy's jaw dropped. He ran over and knelt beside the old man.
	"What's going on? What's wrong!?" he cried frantically. He pulled many potions from his bag, but they seemed to have no effect. Suddenly, Tellah was blown across the ground by an unseen force. He stopped a few yards away. Randy picked up his staff and ran over.
	"Master Tellah! Are you all right??" he asked, concerned for the old man. Tellah nodded, sitting up.
	"I.....yes..." he said, breathing hard. Randy looked puzzled.
	"What on earth happened, sir?" he said, scratching his sandy blond hair.
	"Um...it was like a spell, but I am fine. There is no damage." Tellah said, working it over.
	"Maybe whatever spell it was missed..." Randy suggested. Tellah shook his head, a wild look in his eyes.
	"It was powerful magic. Magic that I used to know how to do. But I have forgotten. Fire magic." Tellah explained.
	"What of that blast that flung you over here?" Randy asked him.
	"Almost like flying........." Tellah puzzled. "I think something awful has happened to Anna! We must hurry!!" 
	He began babbling about hurrying. Randy took his arm.
	"Calm down, sir....We're almost to Baron!" Randy said, looking out over the valley beyond the Mist Village that they had just passed through. Nothing bizzare had happened in the Misty Cave, just now. He saw the forbidding looking castle Baron near the ocean. That was their next stop.
	"Let's hurry then," he decided, helping Tellah along.


	"Roland!" Kain called.
	"Elder! Elder!!" the twins cried. Roland whirled around, and nearly dropped the stack of papers he had been carrying.
	"Oh..." he gasped, gazing at Kain. "You really did it, my boy!" He smiled.
	"No time for that!!" Kain said. "Something horrible has happened." 
	"What...?" Roland said uneasily.
	It all came out then. Palom's betrayal, Garlio, Pegid and Triwold's attack, Fiana's cruel fate, Nuke, everything. Kain even told him about the man of light, but he left out most of the intimate details.
	"This is unprecedented." Roland said, scratching his auburn beard. "I had no idea the tension was THIS great. I will have to talk to the Black Wizards. Their little society will be no more. The same for the White Wizards." He turned to Palom.
	"As for you," Roland said to him. To his surprise, Palom didn't tremble or whimper. He didn't protest.
	"Sorry Elder, but you can't punish me." Palom proclaimed. "I'm not a practicing Black Mage anymore. I'll leave Mysidia as soon as I can pack." Roland was taken aback.
	"My child," he said softly. "You don't have to quit or leave. It wasn't your fault, you were wrongly influenced." Palom shook his head.
	"I attacked my own sister for the glory of the Black Arts. It was wrong and I don't deserve---or want---to practice them any longer. I'm going." Palom said. Porom gasped.
	"But Palom! Our parents---even though we never knew them---they were wizards! We owe it to them to continue our practice!" she begged, her eyes shining. Palom shook his head defiantly.	
	"I don't know about you. But I swore on father's charm that I would be a Black Mage. I betrayed that oath by backstabbing my own family. Besides, the token of that promise is at the top of Mt. Ordeals. I don't plan to fetch it." the young wizard said. He turned toward the exit.
	"Well," Roland said, his face glowing with pride. "You two have matured. It must have been Ordeals. After all, you returned alive. Whatever you wish to do is up to you." Palom nodded and walked out to get his things. 
	"And you, Kain. You seem more mature too. It is a shame about Fiana, but Garlio was a traitor, and traitors do things like that." Roland said sorrowfully.
	"Roland, I need you to open the Serpent Road." Kain said suddenly.
	"Oh? Very well then. I suppose you need to get to Baron. Kain, don't abuse your power. Use to help, not to kill. Anyone can be forgiven. You of all people would know that. Keep that in mind."
	"Okay, Roland. I won't forget. Also..." Kain said. "This might seem like a strange request, but could someone retrieve the statue of Fiana?"
	"I could try to have that arranged."
	"And....could you send it to Toroia?" Kain asked. Roland gave him a strange look, but said nothing. He nodded.
	"Now, to the Serpent Road." he said, leading Kain out. Porom just stood where she was, and stared at the floor.
	Why, Palom? 
	Why???


	Tucker's forces stood around the Serpent Road, bored as they had ever been. Gregory tapped the magical green wall that sealed the road, but for the fifteenth time as like all the others, nothing happened.
	"Come on, man!" Rolley complained. "Nothin's gonna happen aroun' 'ere!" 
	"The commander told us to wait it out." 'Tucker' said in a voice void of emotion. 
	"That's what you said three hours ago." Ben said bitterly.
	"I want to see some action!" Wedge complained.
	"Me too. This is the most un-exciting assignment I'VE ever been put on!" Biggs agreed sourly.

	"This is the Serpent Road. It is currently sealed to prevent Baronian raids." Roland explained. "I suppose now is the time to break the seal." He raised his hands.
	"Wait!" cried two voices from the door. Palom and Porom ran into the room. Porom looked like she had been crying, and Palom had a pack over his shoulder.
	"I'm coming too." Porom said. "I have to help Sir Kain in his quest."
	"And I just need a way out of this place." Palom said with a shrug of his shoulders. 
	"Very well." Roland said, raising his hands again, and chanting words that none of them had ever heard before. The green wall faded out.

	Kirke was leaning on the green wall when it suddenly vanished. He fell onto the floor. Life surged back into the other soldiers.
	"This is it! Let's go, men!" 'Tucker' ordered. They all stepped into the warp field.

	Palom, Porom and Kain stepped into the warp field. Suddenly, the entire town began to shake violently.
	"What the--?!!" Kain cursed as debris fell from the ceiling.
	"It can't be!" Roland gasped.
	"What can't?" Palom cried.
	"One Thousand Years Ago..." Roland said dramatically, "Twin giants fought over a sandbar shaped like a serpent. They couldn't decide who would own it. It took a great wizard and the Giant King Titan to seal them away, along with the sandbar. Afterward it was known as the Serpent Road, and people could warp from one side to the other. This quake must mean something bad happened---Titan is raising the Road from the sea!!"
	"Titan!" Kain cried. He hadn't liked the results of his last run-in with Titan. It had caused him a lot of pain. If it happened again---


	"Sir, the Serpent Road is rising from the sea!!" Biggs cried.
	"That's ridiculous!" Baigan sneered. "Master Gol----er, go check it out, you fools! Go across the landbridge. I want you men to scout out Mysidia. We can siege it easily now! GO!"
	"Yes sir!" Wedge said. They turned to the other. "Captain Tucker, Ben, Rolley, Kirke, Gregory, we need to scout Mysidia. Let's go!" The troops dashed out the door as soon as they heard the order. They ran hooting and hollering from Baron, excited that they were going on a great mission for the King!
	They stepped onto the Road. Tucker felt the wet grass on his bare feet. He wondered about that--why everyone else wore "shoes" but they seemed strange to him alone. He shrugged it off, as he marched along with the others; on ground not tread upon for hundreds of years.

	Kain and the twins ran onto the still-soaked grass of the Road. It stretched out for a long way, more than Kain could make out. This way he could easily make it to Baron. He looked nervously around for signs of that brute, Titan. He had long ago added the Summoned Beast onto his list of things to avoid at all costs. He decided slowing down things wouldn't hurt, so they made camp for the night, just as the stars were coming out.

	"Let's continue in the morning, men!" Tucker ordered. The troops gratefully plopped onto the ground. They hadn't brought any supplies, which might have been foolish, but they didn't care. Their heads were in the clouds. Besides, the cool night air was better than the suffocating heat of Baron, which had recently been hit by a killer drought. The heat wasn't letting up there, but here on the road the temperature was perfect.


	"I shall strike you all down in the name of Golbez the Black!" Edge crowed, raising his katanas in a salute for his master.
	"Cecil! We're nearing that place!" Anna hissed, motioning toward the ground. Cecil glanced over and saw the tree they had fallen by in the distance. He turned the airship toward that area with such speed that Luca was nearly flung over the side.
	"No funny business!" Edge snapped, lunging for Cecil. He slashed his arm, and Cecil was knocked away from the controls. 
	"No! Stop!" Luca squealed. Edge turned to her, fire in his eyes.
	"Then give me the key to the Sealed Cave!" he cried, lunging for her.
	"NO!!" she screamed, dodging under him and running into the cabin.
	"Wait, I have an offer for you, girl!" Edge said craftily. "Or rather, for YOU, Dark Knight of Baron." Cecil looked at him suspiciously.
	"What do you mean?" he asked, slowly taking the controls again.
	"I'll exchange the key for Rosa!" he said in a tone of pure ice. It struck home on Cecil. Anna turned to him.
	"You can't, Cecil....we can't risk it...." she coaxed. Cecil shook his head indecisively.
	"Rosa..." he murmured, face filled with sadness. Luca had come out of hiding to hear this bargain, and was standing behind Cecil. She clutched her key protectively.
	"How do WE know that Rosa is even alive?" Kory demanded, voicing a thought that Cecil didn't want to say.
	"She is, how's that?" Edge sneered. He eyed the key out of the corner of his eye as he talked. "Golbez guarantees Rosa's safe return. Do you take the bargain?" Cecil looked around for help, but no one offered any solutions. It was HIS deal.
	Rosa's safe return..........
	In exchange for a sacred artifact? 
	A Crystal? Give a Crystal to Golbez?
	I can't do it.....

	"I won't do it, Edge. That's final." Cecil said, his jaw setting. Edge shrugged.
	"Have it your way!" he said as he lunged for Luca. Cecil stabbed his shoulder as Luca slipped away again. Edge whirled on him, swords drawn.
	"Meddler! You had your chance!" he cried, bringing down the sword. Kory shoved Cecil out of the way and it severed his arm.
	"AAARRGGH!!" he howled, collapsing onto the deck. Blood gushed onto the wood, staining it red. Edge laughed and stabbed him again. Then he leapt onto the railing.
	"Master Golbez promises to deal with you again!" he said before leaping off. Cecil took control of the ship as drove it over the tree. Far below, the winds of the tree blew them out through the huge hole. 
	Cecil set the airship into a steady hover, and walked over to where Anna and Luca were standing over Professor Kory. He lay bleeding to death on the ground.
	"...Kory....why'd you do this??" Anna sobbed. "Cecil could've blocked that blow, and now you've........oohhhh..." She buried her face in her hands. Kory looked up at her.
	"Cecil is a grand swordfighter. He could have indeed blocked that katana....but not the shurikens Edge was hiding, or his other sword." Kory said in his businesslike way. He looked at the sky as they emerged above Agart island. The stars were shining brightly that night.
	"Look at that..." he said in awe. "I'm so glad I got to see this sky before I go....not that awful underworld.....too stuffy for me..." Luca began wailing. 
	"Kory, you saved my life. I'll never forget it. But, maybe we can still get you to a doctor, or..." Cecil said. Kory laughed, coughing up some blood.
	"I suppose my death is written in the stars there. Nothing one can do about it....." Kory said softly. "W...ow....it hurts, but I can see.....there.....look at that..."
	"What?" Anna said, tears falling off her chin.
	"The moon..........it's more red than....ever..." Kory said. His head fell, and he was gone. The women began sobbing again, and Cecil looked up at the sky. Dawn would be coming soon. But he could indeed see the moon.
	It was red. Redder than a Sand Ruby. Red, in fact, as Kory's blood at his feet.