“Hurry Shadow!  The tower’s collapsing!”  Relm screeched as she ran by, but Shadow paid no heed to her warning.  He looked to his feet where Interceptor, his faithful canine companion, stood.
	“Follow her, Interceptor…”  Shadow muttered.  As he expected, but not as he had hoped, the dog only looked at him with a crooked head.  “Go!”  he shouted before dashing into a crevice.  Shadow didn’t want to send interceptor away, but he’d rather be alone than have the dog die too.  Looking around the corner, he saw that his suspicion was true:  Interceptor had stayed.  Sighing heavily as he stepped out of the crevice, Shadow looked to his friend and spoke calmly, “Stay well.”  He then hid in another crevice further back as the tower churned.
	“Barahm,” Shadow said to himself, “I’m not going to run anymore.  It’s time for a new beginning.”  Closing his eyes, he let the image of his wife come to him.  Why did I leave her? he wondered.  Shadow awoke from his remembrance at the sound of a whimpering dog.  Interceptor still had not gone.  He couldn’t let his best friend suffer the same fate as he.
	“Come, Interceptor.  Let’s get off this rock.”  He said softly as he left the crevice.  The dog finally listened, but stopped just behind Shadow, who had paused at a familiar sound:  The airship.  “Damn it,  they’re going to leave us behind!”  Shadow listened for a moment longer.  Realizing that his allies were flying just over the edge of the tower, he smirked.  He snatched up Interceptor as he backed from the tower’s edge.  Just a moment longer… he thought, but he didn’t  get that moment.  A loud crumbling sound from above him interrupted his thoughts.  A large boulder suddenly fell loose of the rumbling tower directly above Shadow.  Looking upward, Shadow’s body reacted before his mind could.  He jumped over the edge of the tower just in time to avoid certain death ,only to realize that he had jumped too soon.  He began to plummet with Interceptor still in his arms.  Faster and faster he fell, until…

	Shifting the Falcon into full throttle, Setzer gave a quick glance to the gauges on the control panel.  Getting out of here was going to be pretty tough, but at least the odds were greater than a Royal Flush.  In a smooth motion, he activated the vertical thrust.  Placing his hand on the controls, Setzer smirked at his earlier comment:  There’s more to life than luck.  True his mistrust of the old coin in his pocket had saved  his life as well as Edgar and Terra, but it was his remark that made him laugh.  He really was beginning to act like Daryl.  The sound of the ship’s side scraping against the tower gathered the gambler’s wits.  He wasn’t out of here yet.  Clearing the tower was easy from then on, since Setzer was now watching his way. 
	Setzer quickly looked to see who else was on the upper deck.  Edgar, Locke, and Celes were among the more notable.  At least he wouldn’t have to keep the head count.
	“Edgar, do we have everybody on board?  ‘Cause if not, we better find them.”  Setzer called back as he turned his head back to the forward end of the ship.  Though he told Edgar to check, Setzer still ran through his mind who he knew was onboard.  There were the three up top, as well as Gau, Mog, Umaro, and Gogo.  Sabin was there, he and Setzer got to the ship at the same time.  Cyan got there right after Sabin.  That left Terra, Relm, and the old man.  Apparently, Edgar came to the same conclusion.
	“Terra, Strago, and Relm aren’t here.”  Edgar shouted. 
	“There’s Relm and Strago!  Quick, drop the hook.”  Terra yelped.  Circling around while the hook dropped, Setzer noticed how much the tower was shaking.  It wouldn’t hold much longer.  The quaking of the tower wouldn’t help the risky pick up, but that’s why Setzer was the world’s best gambler.  He would take a risk that he knew could ruin him if he didn’t play his cards right, and this was like being dealt two aces.  Just as the hook came around to Strago, something in the tower erupted, sending rocks flying straight towards the Falcon.  Pulling up harshly on the controls, Setzer grimaced.  He barely cleared himself of the debris, but the hook veered away at that maneuver.
	“We got ‘em Setzer.  Don’t worry.”  Locke said after peering over the edge.  “Look’s like Terra’s already left the tower in her own way.”
	“Then let’s hope we get to her in time.” Setzer grinned slightly, thinking to himself.  Full House, queens over aces, if we get to that last queen.  He turned the Falcon around and threw it in full throttle, heading straight for the flying white dot in the distance.  Suddenly the dot altered.  The destruction of the statues had to be the cause.  With the loss of magic, Terra would surely lose her powers.  If he didn’t time this just right, Setzer would lose her, and there would be no second chance.  Terra began to loose altitude.  Slowly, her angle changed from a slight descent to an all out fall.
	Thirty seconds was all Setzer needed.  He only had twenty.  Flying at a slight angle downward, the ship closed in on Terra.  Fifteen.  If he caught her at his current angle, she’d die from the impact for sure.  Ten.  She fell below the Falcon, just as Setzer planned.  Dropping to a nose dive, the Falcon fell toward the ground at an insane speed.  Five.  Flying alongside the falling Terra, Setzer steered to catch her.  Four.  With Terra on the deck, he only had to pull up.  Three.  Pulling back on the controls, the Falcon shuttered and changed it’s angle slightly.  Two.  A little further.  One.  The Falcon’s nose suddenly tilted upward, sending the ship flying back into the sky.  Setzer had done it.  Full house.

	Shadow’s eyes cracked open, but all he saw was darkness.  Standing slowly, he checked himself for injuries.  None.  It didn’t make sense, but neither did landing in the dark forest.  Looking about his feet to find a path, Shadow was taken aback by another oddity.  Interceptor was nowhere to be found.  He closed his eyes to concentrate for a moment.  None of it made sense.  Interceptor, the fall, the forest, and the fact that he was unscathed.  Maybe my answers lie within this dark place.
	With that thought, Shadow opened his eyes, which had now adjusted to the darkness, and followed the path.  Somehow, everything seemed familiar to him, yet different.  He continued walking through the darkened forest until he came to a pond.  The pond was clear and calm, shimmering in the dark.  Shadow rested for a moment, looking around.  By now, he had realized that he knew this place, but somehow it remained a mystery to him.  A movement over the pond called Shadow’s eyes to attention at a ripple in the center of the water.  Nothing had moved, at least not that Shadow had seen.  He back away from the pool, finding it best to move on.
	The trees themselves seemed to have eyes.  Though no creature was about, Shadow continually felt eyes watching him from the darkness.  Occasionally, he heard footsteps that were not his own.  Whenever he looked, there was no one.  Fingering a shuriken as he went, Shadow knew he was alone, but not alone.  If there was someone following him, he would have seen them or at least their tracks.  No one can cover tracks fast enough to avoid being seen by darting eyes, not even Shadow himself.
	At the sight of an old rusted gate, Shadow suddenly realized where he was:  The Mystic Forest.  The forest in which Cyan had to watch his family board the Ghost Train.  The forest which he fled and became Shadow.  It was here that he left his heart.  The same forest Barahm had died in.
	Shadow halted in his tracks.  It all made sense now.  A realization that he had never wanted to have.  That was why he was drawn toward this place, why he had come in this direction, why he couldn’t turn back now.  Shadow was dead.

	Setting the Falcon down next to Figaro Castle never felt so good.  Setzer shut off the engines, grinned, and headed below deck.  Finally, he’d get to relax and finish the first cup of coffee he had had in a year.  Everyone had already gotten off the ship and started for the castle.  Stepping out of the hatch, the sun came out from behind the clouds as the breeze picked up.  Smiling as he inhaled the sweet air of victory, Setzer walked toward the castle.
	As was expected, all the servants and maidens and shop keeps had rushed the door and were cheering for the defeat of Kefka.  The self-righteous clown was finally dead, and the people of the world were finally free.  That didn’t really change the fact that Setzer wanted a good cup of coffee and a new deck of cards.  The servants here were too busy for such a request and soon, Edgar would start giving a speech before turning his attention to the ladies.  Victory may be a sweet taste, but coffee is better by far.  Turning to Cyan, he frowned.
	“What’s up Cyan?  You don’t look very happy and I’d expect far different from you on an occasion like this.”
	“I do not know, Setzer.  I have got a horrible feeling that something is not right.”
	“I’m sure it’s nothing.  Anyway, I’m off to Kohlingen.  Just thought that I should tell someone.”
	“Yes, ‘tis most likely that nothing is wrong.  Enjoy whatever it is thou hath planned.”
	“I will.”  With that, Setzer turned back toward the Falcon and smiled.  Finally, coffee.

	I’m not going to run any more.  It’s time for a new beginning.  Slowly, Shadow moved toward the gate.  Death finally caught up to him, and he wasn’t going to run.  It truly was his time to die.  He pushed the old gate, which creaked as though it were going to fall off, but it stayed on it’s hinges.  I’m NOT going to run anymore…  Shadow picked up his pace, now at a fast walk.  The station wasn’t far, but Shadow knew his time had come, so why wait.  He began to run toward the station.  The train was slowing down to stop.  Perfect timing, just as it had done the night Cyan had to watch his wife and child depart on the ghostly train.  Just as the howling brakes stopped the phantom train, the doors slid open.  Shadow moved forward, accepting his fate.
	But then, something unexpected happened.  A shadow moved from the side of the station.  Shadow’s eyes quickly followed the movement, which sent a shiver running down his spine.  The movement was no creature, but a person.  Maybe it was his imagination, or a ghost, but what approached him seemed to be completely real.  Never would Shadow had believed his eyes if he had not seen Cyan’s wife and child that night so long ago.  Yes, it was truly him.  Barahm.
	“’Bout time you showed up, Clyde.”  The figure said.  Shadow, still stunned from the sight of his old partner in crime, only nodded.  “What?  No ‘Good to see you, buddy’?  C’mon Clyde, say something.”
	“Death finally caught up to me, didn’t he?”  Shadow managed.
	“Took him long enough.  Aren’t you glad you got rid of your feelings just a little late?  Thanks to you, I’ve had to wait at the station rather than moving on to the afterlife.”
	“Sorry, Barahm,” he said, finally shaking the chill from his back, “You always knew I was quick.  I guess Death needs to train more.  And speaking of trains, shouldn’t we be going?”
	“Sure, old buddy.  I hear that it’s a long ride to the afterlife.”  They began to walk toward the train, but something slowed Shadow.  He was able to shrug it off at first, but the closer to the train he walked, the louder the barking grew.  It was as if Interceptor were rushing toward the station after Shadow, but had gotten stuck at the gate.  Turning, Shadow found that Interceptor was not at the gate.  I can’t just leave him…  By now, the train was screeching its horn to call out for all remaining passengers.  Shadow rushed toward the gate to find the little dog, leaving both the train and Barahm calling for him.  Stepping outside the station, an eerie light began to glow.  Just before he was engulfed by the light, he heard Barahm, “Clyde!”

	With his eyes closed and his smile wide, Setzer never felt so free.  No troubles on his mind, no gambles in play, no risky situations.  He opened his eyes with a renewed happiness, but he knew it wouldn’t last long.  He didn’t care.  One moment of peace is so much more valuable than a million thrills.  And gambling gets boring after a while.  But some things never change.  The moment ended as his memory recalled what had been haunting him for five years now…  Daryl.  Setzer let his memory go about its way, he knew he couldn’t stop it anyway.  Steps on the deck awakened him from the memory.
	“Hey Setzer, where we going?”  came Sabin’s voice.