Chapter 33: The Flatwoods Monster

Seeing Craig continue to march forward like a mindless zombie and realizing there was no other choice left, "Whistle... whistle," Clyde, Casca, and Corie began to whistle, echoing the melody ringing inside each of their minds.

[Song Confirmed.]

[Combat Mode Activated.]

[Transformation process commencing.]

"Bwoooosh!"

A dark reddish aura enveloped the three of them simultaneously as a mist-like white vapor billowed from their bodies. Craig, who had been advancing slowly, came to a sudden halt, his hands releasing the two severed giant arms he had been dragging. He then stood frozen, his arms hanging limp in front of him, his glowing eyes locked onto the three figures ahead. As the glowing aura dissipated, "pssssh," Clyde, Casca, and Corie, now transformed into their full combat modes, vented white steam from their joints.

Craig tilted his head to the side, his behavior mimicking a confused zombie, yet that cluelessness was precisely what made him so terrifying. Once the transformation finished, Corie stepped out in front of Clyde and Casca,

"Hey... Corie," Clyde warned telepathically, reaching out a hand.

"Leave this to me, Brother. I’ll knock some sense into him... besides, who knows when I’ll get another chance to test out my powers," Corie shot back via telepathy.

"He isn’t conscious, remember? The system just said his mind couldn’t be detected," Casca interjected anxiously through telepathy.

"I know... relax, just trust me," Corie replied casually, waving her hand back at them as if to say just sit back and watch.

Corie bounded forward toward the motionlessly standing Craig, her stride picking up speed until she was in a full sprint. She leaped high into the air, executing a midair flip directly toward the unmoving giant,

"Take this... spinning kick!"

Corie yelled, driving a lightning-fast straight kick through the air aimed at Craig’s head. But "thud," Craig nonchalantly raised a previously limp arm, catching the sole of Corie’s foot dead in his palm.

"Eh?"

Craig released his grip on her foot, only to immediately snatch her ankle, whipping Corie’s body around through the air,

"Waaaaah!"

Corie screamed as she was spun around before Craig hurled her straight into the wall to his left. "Blam!" Corie slammed headfirst into the concrete, caving the wall inward and getting stuck inside the newly formed crater. "Corie!" Clyde and Casca shouted telepathically, dashing over to help pull her out of the hollowed wall. They knelt beside her as she carefully got to her feet,

"Uuugh... turns out... he’s strong," Corie transmitted telepathically, stepping down from the wall to drop onto one knee, rubbing her masked face.

Clyde stood up and turned back to face Craig, who remained standing like a statue with both arms dangling limply out front. Unfurling his wings, Clyde strode toward him,

"Brother... where are you going?" Casca shouted over telepathy.

"I want to find out what happened to him. Stay there and be ready to step in if I get pushed back," Clyde answered firmly.

"Be careful, Brother... he’s really strong," Corie added.

Clyde walked right up to Craig, whose head tracked his every move. Stopping directly in front of him, Clyde stared into Craig’s eyes, which tilted slightly downward to meet his gaze, as they were nearly equal in height.

"Hey, Craig. Remember me?" Clyde asked telepathically.

Suddenly, Clyde threw his upper body backward, "swooosh!" as Craig’s fist swept from left to right, grazing past Clyde’s face.

"Oh, so that’s how you greet me?" Clyde asked through telepathy.

"Bum!" With terrifying speed, Craig raised both hands, clenching them into a double axe-handle strike that came crashing down on Clyde. Anticipating the trajectory, Clyde dodged with a quick leap backward, letting the massive blow shatter the ground beneath, leaving the train tracks hovering precariously over a fresh crater.

"Try to remember, Craig... even as kids, you could never beat me," Clyde taunted.

"Syuuuut!" Craig thrust a straight punch forward, but Clyde casually tilted his head, letting the strike whiz past his cheek. Undeterred, Craig unleashed a relentless barrage of punches, claws, grapples, and kicks, yet Clyde dodged every single move flawlessly, predicting the trajectory before the attacks were even launched.

"What happened to you, Craig? How am I supposed to pin you down... I don’t want to kill you!" Clyde yelled amidst the storm of blows he was dodging.

Meanwhile, over at the perimeter, Casca and Corie, now back on their feet, watched as Craig blindly threw everything he had at Clyde, who did nothing but dodge.

"Hey... why isn’t Brother Clyde fighting back?" Corie asked telepathically.

"Because he doesn’t want to hurt Brother Craig! Use your head!" Casca snapped back via telepathy.

"Should we jump in and help him?" Corie asked through telepathy.

"If Brother Clyde needs our help, he’ll tell us," Casca replied, though she was privately sick with worry.

Craig’s onslaught grew increasingly furious and rapid, his fists flying everywhere, now accompanied by heavy kicks. However, thanks to Clyde’s premonitions and superior speed, he managed to evade every single attempt, though he was steadily forced backward toward the tunnel entrance. Casca and Corie kept pace beside them, following the path of the fight.

"Brother Clyde... watch out! Don’t let him drive us back into the station!" Casca yelled telepathically.

"Yeah... I know... there’s no reasoning with him!" Clyde yelled back, ducking low to dodge a sweeping hook.

"We have to stop him in his tracks, Brother Clyde!" Corie yelled.

As Clyde ducked and stepped backward, he realized he was getting dangerously close to the mouth of the tunnel. Catching sight of a high roundhouse kick swinging in from Craig’s right, Clyde crouched low and swept his leg beneath the blow, driving a sweeping kick directly into Craig’s ankles. Caught off guard by the sweep, Craig lost his balance, his massive frame falling backward. But before he could hit the floor,

"Now... Casca... Corie!" Clyde shouted over telepathy.

Casca instantly leaped into the air, executing a midair spin to wrap her tail tightly around Craig’s neck, while Corie flipped forward and landed with both feet squarely on Craig’s abdomen, driving him hard into the ground. Craig’s hands clawed at the tail wrapped around his throat, trying to tear it off, but Corie, balanced on his chest, kicked his hands away and immediately dropped flat onto his torso, pinning both of his arms using her hands and legs.

Clyde pounced forward, grabbing both of Craig’s legs to completely immobilize him. Craig lay flat on his back, fully restrained, with Corie laying across his chest, locking his arms down with all her strength.

"Now what do we do, Brother?" asked Casca, her tail still coiled tightly around Craig’s throat.

"He’s... so strong, Brother... hurry, I can’t hold his arms down much longer!" shouted Corie, straining with every muscle to keep Craig pinned.

Clyde watched as Craig thrusted and thrashed, attempting to break free, making it nearly impossible to keep a grip on his legs. He was at a complete loss as to how to handle Craig or at least knock him unconscious without killing him. He could see Corie was on the verge of losing her hold, and Casca couldn’t possibly tighten her tail’s grip any further.

While Clyde frantically searched for a way out, a massive holographic display materialized in front of the three of them. This time, the screen was completely stable, displaying a woman wearing a diamond-shaped helmet. Her crimson eyes and masked face remained concealed behind the visor.

["Casca... hold his head, and I will borrow your body to enter his consciousness."]

"Celes?" Clyde asked.

["Yes, Clyde, it’s me... Normally our communications are unstable, but now I am using my combat mode... and this might be the last time I speak to you, because I will surely fall into a deep sleep after this."]

"What... what do you mean? How are you going to help Craig?" Clyde demanded.

["I will inhabit Casca’s body and enter Craig’s frame to search for his consciousness... He has... become a machine zombie in the simulation."]

"What?" Clyde gasped in horror.

["There is no time left. After this... head south and find me... Remember the orphanage where we were raised? I am there... along with Chimaera Z-X... I will wait for you... wait for all of you, Clyde, Casca, Corie."]

"Big Sister Celes!" Corie cried out.

Celes did not answer, and the holographic screen vanished into thin air. Casca cupped Craig’s head in both of her hands. Suddenly, Casca’s entire body went rigid as a violet light surged down from her head, splitting into two streams down her arms, flowing into her palms, and pouring directly into Craig’s head. Craig instantly went limp, ceasing all movement. Corie slowly released her grip on his arms and legs, standing up to support the weakened Casca.

"What was that just now?" Corie asked.

"I... I don’t know," Casca replied, still somewhat dazed. "I just felt... Big Sister Celes enter my body, and then everything went dark. I only just came back to my senses."

"I just remembered... Celes... Flatwood monster... She can detect anyone’s mind no matter where they are, communicate across long distances using a medium, and enter the mind of any living creature," Clyde murmured under his breath, confused.

"You remember, Brother?" Corie asked.

"I don’t know... memories just suddenly surfaced in my head... maybe Celes showed me," Clyde answered, pressing a hand to his head.

The three of them stood up and gathered together, staring down at Craig, who remained trapped in his combat form, lying stiff and motionless on the ground.