OK, this is a strange one, and is of yet unfinished. Maybe if I get enough feedback...? *hinthint*
Edgar 1/2
by Blackjack Gabbiani
"For the last time, we're going to the Recovery Spring!" Sabin yelled to his
brother. "And it's because you need some martial arts training!"
From behind, Edgar moaned. "How will we know when we've found it? There's a
million springs around here, and neither one of us can read Doman!"
"I can!" Sabin said. "Now get a move on!"
About an hour later, they reached the spring. Several thin walkways, about the size
of gymnast beams, ran across the surface of the water.
"Ideal for balance!" Sabin exclaimed. "Now, get up there!"
Grudgingly, Edgar climbed onto the nearest beam. Sabin swung a punch and
missed. Edgar countered with a weak kick, and Sabin roundhoused him.
"Sabin!"
"Sorry brother! That's the nature of training! Gotta be ready for anything!"
Edgar stared up at the sky. Why did he agree to this?
*SPLOOSH*
"Edgar? Edgar?" Sabin gulped. He hoped his brother was O.K....that punch caught
him off guard.
A figure emerged from the far end of the pool. A young woman. Maybe she had
seen Edgar fall in. Sabin hurried over...
"What'd ya do that for?" the girl screamed.
"Huh? Have you seen my brother?"
"I AM your brother, dunce! Dontcha recognize me? I'm the same Edgar I've
always been!"
Someone called from the other side of the spring. "Sabin! Thank the Goddesses I
got here in time!" Duncan paused to catch his breath. "Since the Cataclysm, this hasn't
been a Recovery Spring! It's been a..." His eyes rested on the shapely young woman next
to his student. "I thought you were bringing Edgar here..."
"I AM Edgar! Can't you two see?"
Duncan got a sudden sinking feeling. "So that's what they meant by a 'cursed
spring'!"
At the same time, in the mountains of the Serpent Continent, a great evil awoke.
Pale as the death he brought (or at least tried to bring), the man remembered what had
happened. His liege, the God of Destruction, was gone, defeated by the Returners.
The Returners! The man stood and clenched his fists. Revenge would indeed be
sweet. Especially against that wimp of a king, Edgar Figaro, who had knocked the man
into unconsciousness during their battle.
Laughing, the man straightened his blue uniform. His liege loved to laugh, and as
the sole remnant of the Cult of Kefka, the Magi-Master saw no reason why he shouldn't as
well.
Completely involved in laughter, the Magi-Master walked into a post, knocking
himself out again.
Back at Figaro Castle, Terra was in a foul mood. She was usually a very calm,
pleasant girl, but this man would try the patience of...well, anyone.
"Terra Branford, I offer to thee a present."
Siegfried. Everywhere she went, Siegfried followed. Ever since Edgar left on that
training expedition, every man in Figaro thought it was prime time to try and win the heart
of the beautious half-Esper.
"Terra Branford, loveliest of girls. As I promised, I have slain the beast to prove
myself."
But Siegfried was the worst. Thinking he was proving anything by fighting Sand
Rays and FossilFangs.
Amateur, she thought.
"MY LOVE!!!!!"
With a lightning motion, Terra punched the advancing Siegfried in the stomach,
bringing him to his knees. Groaning, he looked up and smiled weakly.
"To be struck by one so beautiful as you...Truly an honor..."
"Oh shut up."
*THUNK*
"Ohnnnn...if anyone finds out about this, I'm screwed! And not in the good way,
either!"
Sabin grunted. "Turn into a girl and you're still horny as a guy. Lissen, Duncan
said that all you gotta do is stay away from cold water. We live in the middle of the
desert! Cold water is a precious commodity!"
Edgar groaned again. "Not...anymore..."
"Uh?"
"The Figaro Irrigation Project, remember?"
"Oh...but that's only over a small area, not the castle. And we got plenty of hot
water to turn you back, just in case. Anyway, we should tell the Matron." Sabin looked up
with a grin. "Hey...I always wanted a sister...!"
Edgar punched him.
Setzer Gabbiani staggered through the Figarian desert. "Dammiiiiiiiit..." he
moaned. That's the last time I bet the airship...damn guy looked like a playing card...so
much for 'cheaters never prosper.'
"The airship hangar should be around here," he whispered, thinking of his beloved
Falcon, and his two new ships, the Ace and the Palidor. He slapped himself. "Why did
you bet the Blackjack, you dope? You know you can't find your way around on the
ground! I'm probably nowhere near Tzen..."
Gogo was hard at work. The letter had to be perfect to win the heart of the young
mimic that had caught his eye. He didn't even know if the peg of his heart was a man or a
woman, but with mimics, it didn't really matter. The lovely one was known as Didi, a
feminine name, to be sure, but also a mimic's name.
"To my darling Didi," Gogo wrote, not noticing the figure coming up behind him.
"Another love letter? You just won't quit, will you?" Didi yelled.
"My love!" Gogo gasped. "Oh, my precious!"
"Shaddup!" Didi shouted, right before slamming a giant spatula on Gogo's plumed
head. "And take off that feather. Ya look like a Kefka wannabe," the younger mimic
stated flatly before storming off.
Gogo rubbed his head. "Oh, such a fiery temper. So lovely." Sighing, he decided
to go spy on his paramour.
Within five minutes, Gogo returned to his dressing room, the tree disguise he had
chosen barely allowing him to enter.
"Darling Didi..." he whispered lustfully before passing out.
"Listen," said Siegfried to Ultros. "I seek to win the heart of the fair Terra
Branford."
"And what's in it for me?" the purple mass asked.
"You must attack Figaro Castle, where she stays. I shall pretend to defeat you, and
she shall see me as her savior."
"Wait a minute," said Ultros. "Didn't she fight that clown last year?" Siegfried
nodded. "And you think that you beatin' me is gonna land her in your lap?"
"Of course. Oh, she fights with such ferocity...But has never been able to beat you.
She and her friends have saved the world from an evil God, but none can rid the world of
you, my purple friend."
"So what do I get?"
"Oho! What DON'T you get!"
Ultros shrugged, an impressive feat considering that the shrugger was a giant
octopus. "I want part ownership in the coliseum and an all-I-can-eat lunch every day."
Siegfried smiled, and rammed his sword into the floor. "Done!" he bellowed.
Terra smiled. Siegfried was nowhere to be found! And Edgar was coming home.
Today couldn't be better. She hummed an aria as she prepared her hair with several
ribbons, but her mood changed abruptly when she heard the familiar voice of...
"Relm! How are you?"
The prepubescent heroine looked up and smiled maliciously. "Where Edgar?"
"Huh?"
"She's been experimenting with different accents lately," came another voice, an
elderly man, leaning on a walking stick twice his height.
"Grandfather! I talk to Terra. You no interfere!" Relm spat out.
Strago groaned. "She's also being belligerent."
Terra nodded. "Some of the older kids in Mobliz are like that. How long are you
two staying for?"
Relm grinned. "Till husband come back to Thamasa and leave uncute girl!"
*WHAM*
Strago withdrew the staff. "It clears her head for a while. Relm, Edgar is not your
husband!"
The two left. Terra sighed and sat on the edge of her bed. "Uncute...?"
"Where is Tzen?" Setzer demanded of a guard.
"Uh...wrong continent. This is Figaro Castle..."
"Figaro, eh...?" Thoughts of a certain beautiful young woman entered the
gambler's mind. "Is Terra here?"
"Y...yes..."
Smiling, Setzer entered the castle and promptly got lost.
"One more time!" Siegfried shouted.
Ultros swung his fourth tentacle, and toppled eighteen trees with one swipe.
"Wow..." whispered a strange figure hiding in the shadows of the forest.
"An intruder!" With one strike of his sword, Siegfried felled another tree.
"Owwwwwww...." came a moan.
Siegfried was soon atop the blue-clad man, with his glinting sword pointing at the
stranger's neck. "Who art thou?"
"Uh...call me Magi-Master. You wouldn't know me. No one does."
"Didn't you used to work for Kefka?" Magi-Master didn't answer.
"I bow in holy reverence before your eightfold tentacles of mass destruction!"
"Uh...Siegfried...? This guy's gettin' weird..."
The swordsman turned and saw the former High Priest genuflecting before Ultros.
Several lit candles had suddenly appeared.
"Whoo..." whispered Siegfried. "This guy's worse than I am!"
"Hi-yah! Husband come home!"
"Hello Edgar, Sabin."
"Your Highnesses."
Edgar waved to his friends. IT was great to see so many of them together, but right
now, he needed to see the Matron.
"King Edgar, welcome home." The Matron, mother of the castle, nursemaid of not
only the royal twins, but of their father was well. "Are you still..." she dropped her voice
"needing hot water?"
"Uh...we'll talk about this later."
"Edgar."
The young king turned. "Terra..." he breathed. She was indeed a vision of
loveliness in a lavender dress, her green hair spilling over her shoulders.
Sabin leaned in. "She can't find out, remember?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Edgar dismissed his brother.
"I missed you.
"Terra..."
The two kissed, mage and royal. No one noticed, but Relm turned bright red and
Setzer turned away.
The next day, Edgar woke with a smile on his face. Home, a soft bed, running
water...Terra...He briefly considered going to her chambers and watching her sleep, but
decided against it in favor of a shower.
Siegfried smiled as he entered the castle. The plan was set. Ultros would attack in
a few days' time, with the Magi-Master serving as a distraction in the meantime.
He heard water running--damn! The king was back! But no matter.
The water stopped abruptly, and a door opened. Siegfried prepared to explain his
absence to Edgar, but the person he saw was decidedly not the king.
A young woman, maybe mid-twenties, clad only in a towel, with both leg and
cleavage showing, gleaming wet...She didn't seem to notice the mercenary swordsman
behind her, as she wrung the water out of her long blonde hair.
"Ooh...so lovely..."thought Siegfried. "She is as beautiful as Terra...no! MORE
beautiful!" He watched as the girl walked down the hallway to King Edgar's room and
quietly entered.
"W...what?" Siegfried was taken aback. "Edgar already has the ideal, Terra
Branford, and harbors this lovely innocent behind her back?" The self-proclaimed World's
Greatest Swordsman fumed, thinking of that perverted king and the two wonderful
women...
"THAT SLIME!!! HOW DARE HE!!!!"
Terra woke early, letting the sun play over her eyelids. Edgar was home...and
today they would both go to the experimental farm fields for the official dedication.
Boring, yes, but they would be there together.
She heard a shout from the hallway. Siegfried, ranting about someone. A servant
probably bumped into him or something.
Grinning, she got out of bed. She started to remove her nightgown, but
remembered the person she wanted to avoid was about. She got the key from the
nightstand and put it in the keyhole so Siegfried couldn't peep. "Actually," she whispered
as she dressed, "I'm surprised Edgar hasn't tried that sometime." She would know if he
did, too, as her Esper sixth-sense remained with her even after the fall of magic. "Ahh, but
I love him." she smiled.
"Relm, please. Stop calling her that."
The young painter eyed her grandfather. "Why not? Is free country."
Strago sighed, a common pastime of his lately. "It's a free country partly due to
Terra's help. We should be grateful for her."
Relm snorted. "Then she should be grateful for me! Edgar is mine!"
"Relm, honey..." Strago paused, unsure what he would follow that with. Relm was
probably suffering from some sort of post-traumatic stress. After all, he reminded himself,
it's not every ten-year-old who fights to save the world.
"On the other hand...maybe she's just getting belligerent. Just like her mother."
He watched as Relm sketched a quick picture of Terra with an "X" over it.
"Or, Goddesses help us all, like her father."
Relm added the word "Uncute" to the caricature and started drawing whiskers.
For the seventy-fourth time that day, Strago sighed.
Edgar 1/2
by Blackjack Gabbiani
"For the last time, we're going to the Recovery Spring!" Sabin yelled to his
brother. "And it's because you need some martial arts training!"
From behind, Edgar moaned. "How will we know when we've found it? There's a
million springs around here, and neither one of us can read Doman!"
"I can!" Sabin said. "Now get a move on!"
About an hour later, they reached the spring. Several thin walkways, about the size
of gymnast beams, ran across the surface of the water.
"Ideal for balance!" Sabin exclaimed. "Now, get up there!"
Grudgingly, Edgar climbed onto the nearest beam. Sabin swung a punch and
missed. Edgar countered with a weak kick, and Sabin roundhoused him.
"Sabin!"
"Sorry brother! That's the nature of training! Gotta be ready for anything!"
Edgar stared up at the sky. Why did he agree to this?
*SPLOOSH*
"Edgar? Edgar?" Sabin gulped. He hoped his brother was O.K....that punch caught
him off guard.
A figure emerged from the far end of the pool. A young woman. Maybe she had
seen Edgar fall in. Sabin hurried over...
"What'd ya do that for?" the girl screamed.
"Huh? Have you seen my brother?"
"I AM your brother, dunce! Dontcha recognize me? I'm the same Edgar I've
always been!"
Someone called from the other side of the spring. "Sabin! Thank the Goddesses I
got here in time!" Duncan paused to catch his breath. "Since the Cataclysm, this hasn't
been a Recovery Spring! It's been a..." His eyes rested on the shapely young woman next
to his student. "I thought you were bringing Edgar here..."
"I AM Edgar! Can't you two see?"
Duncan got a sudden sinking feeling. "So that's what they meant by a 'cursed
spring'!"
At the same time, in the mountains of the Serpent Continent, a great evil awoke.
Pale as the death he brought (or at least tried to bring), the man remembered what had
happened. His liege, the God of Destruction, was gone, defeated by the Returners.
The Returners! The man stood and clenched his fists. Revenge would indeed be
sweet. Especially against that wimp of a king, Edgar Figaro, who had knocked the man
into unconsciousness during their battle.
Laughing, the man straightened his blue uniform. His liege loved to laugh, and as
the sole remnant of the Cult of Kefka, the Magi-Master saw no reason why he shouldn't as
well.
Completely involved in laughter, the Magi-Master walked into a post, knocking
himself out again.
Back at Figaro Castle, Terra was in a foul mood. She was usually a very calm,
pleasant girl, but this man would try the patience of...well, anyone.
"Terra Branford, I offer to thee a present."
Siegfried. Everywhere she went, Siegfried followed. Ever since Edgar left on that
training expedition, every man in Figaro thought it was prime time to try and win the heart
of the beautious half-Esper.
"Terra Branford, loveliest of girls. As I promised, I have slain the beast to prove
myself."
But Siegfried was the worst. Thinking he was proving anything by fighting Sand
Rays and FossilFangs.
Amateur, she thought.
"MY LOVE!!!!!"
With a lightning motion, Terra punched the advancing Siegfried in the stomach,
bringing him to his knees. Groaning, he looked up and smiled weakly.
"To be struck by one so beautiful as you...Truly an honor..."
"Oh shut up."
*THUNK*
"Ohnnnn...if anyone finds out about this, I'm screwed! And not in the good way,
either!"
Sabin grunted. "Turn into a girl and you're still horny as a guy. Lissen, Duncan
said that all you gotta do is stay away from cold water. We live in the middle of the
desert! Cold water is a precious commodity!"
Edgar groaned again. "Not...anymore..."
"Uh?"
"The Figaro Irrigation Project, remember?"
"Oh...but that's only over a small area, not the castle. And we got plenty of hot
water to turn you back, just in case. Anyway, we should tell the Matron." Sabin looked up
with a grin. "Hey...I always wanted a sister...!"
Edgar punched him.
Setzer Gabbiani staggered through the Figarian desert. "Dammiiiiiiiit..." he
moaned. That's the last time I bet the airship...damn guy looked like a playing card...so
much for 'cheaters never prosper.'
"The airship hangar should be around here," he whispered, thinking of his beloved
Falcon, and his two new ships, the Ace and the Palidor. He slapped himself. "Why did
you bet the Blackjack, you dope? You know you can't find your way around on the
ground! I'm probably nowhere near Tzen..."
Gogo was hard at work. The letter had to be perfect to win the heart of the young
mimic that had caught his eye. He didn't even know if the peg of his heart was a man or a
woman, but with mimics, it didn't really matter. The lovely one was known as Didi, a
feminine name, to be sure, but also a mimic's name.
"To my darling Didi," Gogo wrote, not noticing the figure coming up behind him.
"Another love letter? You just won't quit, will you?" Didi yelled.
"My love!" Gogo gasped. "Oh, my precious!"
"Shaddup!" Didi shouted, right before slamming a giant spatula on Gogo's plumed
head. "And take off that feather. Ya look like a Kefka wannabe," the younger mimic
stated flatly before storming off.
Gogo rubbed his head. "Oh, such a fiery temper. So lovely." Sighing, he decided
to go spy on his paramour.
Within five minutes, Gogo returned to his dressing room, the tree disguise he had
chosen barely allowing him to enter.
"Darling Didi..." he whispered lustfully before passing out.
"Listen," said Siegfried to Ultros. "I seek to win the heart of the fair Terra
Branford."
"And what's in it for me?" the purple mass asked.
"You must attack Figaro Castle, where she stays. I shall pretend to defeat you, and
she shall see me as her savior."
"Wait a minute," said Ultros. "Didn't she fight that clown last year?" Siegfried
nodded. "And you think that you beatin' me is gonna land her in your lap?"
"Of course. Oh, she fights with such ferocity...But has never been able to beat you.
She and her friends have saved the world from an evil God, but none can rid the world of
you, my purple friend."
"So what do I get?"
"Oho! What DON'T you get!"
Ultros shrugged, an impressive feat considering that the shrugger was a giant
octopus. "I want part ownership in the coliseum and an all-I-can-eat lunch every day."
Siegfried smiled, and rammed his sword into the floor. "Done!" he bellowed.
Terra smiled. Siegfried was nowhere to be found! And Edgar was coming home.
Today couldn't be better. She hummed an aria as she prepared her hair with several
ribbons, but her mood changed abruptly when she heard the familiar voice of...
"Relm! How are you?"
The prepubescent heroine looked up and smiled maliciously. "Where Edgar?"
"Huh?"
"She's been experimenting with different accents lately," came another voice, an
elderly man, leaning on a walking stick twice his height.
"Grandfather! I talk to Terra. You no interfere!" Relm spat out.
Strago groaned. "She's also being belligerent."
Terra nodded. "Some of the older kids in Mobliz are like that. How long are you
two staying for?"
Relm grinned. "Till husband come back to Thamasa and leave uncute girl!"
*WHAM*
Strago withdrew the staff. "It clears her head for a while. Relm, Edgar is not your
husband!"
The two left. Terra sighed and sat on the edge of her bed. "Uncute...?"
"Where is Tzen?" Setzer demanded of a guard.
"Uh...wrong continent. This is Figaro Castle..."
"Figaro, eh...?" Thoughts of a certain beautiful young woman entered the
gambler's mind. "Is Terra here?"
"Y...yes..."
Smiling, Setzer entered the castle and promptly got lost.
"One more time!" Siegfried shouted.
Ultros swung his fourth tentacle, and toppled eighteen trees with one swipe.
"Wow..." whispered a strange figure hiding in the shadows of the forest.
"An intruder!" With one strike of his sword, Siegfried felled another tree.
"Owwwwwww...." came a moan.
Siegfried was soon atop the blue-clad man, with his glinting sword pointing at the
stranger's neck. "Who art thou?"
"Uh...call me Magi-Master. You wouldn't know me. No one does."
"Didn't you used to work for Kefka?" Magi-Master didn't answer.
"I bow in holy reverence before your eightfold tentacles of mass destruction!"
"Uh...Siegfried...? This guy's gettin' weird..."
The swordsman turned and saw the former High Priest genuflecting before Ultros.
Several lit candles had suddenly appeared.
"Whoo..." whispered Siegfried. "This guy's worse than I am!"
"Hi-yah! Husband come home!"
"Hello Edgar, Sabin."
"Your Highnesses."
Edgar waved to his friends. IT was great to see so many of them together, but right
now, he needed to see the Matron.
"King Edgar, welcome home." The Matron, mother of the castle, nursemaid of not
only the royal twins, but of their father was well. "Are you still..." she dropped her voice
"needing hot water?"
"Uh...we'll talk about this later."
"Edgar."
The young king turned. "Terra..." he breathed. She was indeed a vision of
loveliness in a lavender dress, her green hair spilling over her shoulders.
Sabin leaned in. "She can't find out, remember?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Edgar dismissed his brother.
"I missed you.
"Terra..."
The two kissed, mage and royal. No one noticed, but Relm turned bright red and
Setzer turned away.
The next day, Edgar woke with a smile on his face. Home, a soft bed, running
water...Terra...He briefly considered going to her chambers and watching her sleep, but
decided against it in favor of a shower.
Siegfried smiled as he entered the castle. The plan was set. Ultros would attack in
a few days' time, with the Magi-Master serving as a distraction in the meantime.
He heard water running--damn! The king was back! But no matter.
The water stopped abruptly, and a door opened. Siegfried prepared to explain his
absence to Edgar, but the person he saw was decidedly not the king.
A young woman, maybe mid-twenties, clad only in a towel, with both leg and
cleavage showing, gleaming wet...She didn't seem to notice the mercenary swordsman
behind her, as she wrung the water out of her long blonde hair.
"Ooh...so lovely..."thought Siegfried. "She is as beautiful as Terra...no! MORE
beautiful!" He watched as the girl walked down the hallway to King Edgar's room and
quietly entered.
"W...what?" Siegfried was taken aback. "Edgar already has the ideal, Terra
Branford, and harbors this lovely innocent behind her back?" The self-proclaimed World's
Greatest Swordsman fumed, thinking of that perverted king and the two wonderful
women...
"THAT SLIME!!! HOW DARE HE!!!!"
Terra woke early, letting the sun play over her eyelids. Edgar was home...and
today they would both go to the experimental farm fields for the official dedication.
Boring, yes, but they would be there together.
She heard a shout from the hallway. Siegfried, ranting about someone. A servant
probably bumped into him or something.
Grinning, she got out of bed. She started to remove her nightgown, but
remembered the person she wanted to avoid was about. She got the key from the
nightstand and put it in the keyhole so Siegfried couldn't peep. "Actually," she whispered
as she dressed, "I'm surprised Edgar hasn't tried that sometime." She would know if he
did, too, as her Esper sixth-sense remained with her even after the fall of magic. "Ahh, but
I love him." she smiled.
"Relm, please. Stop calling her that."
The young painter eyed her grandfather. "Why not? Is free country."
Strago sighed, a common pastime of his lately. "It's a free country partly due to
Terra's help. We should be grateful for her."
Relm snorted. "Then she should be grateful for me! Edgar is mine!"
"Relm, honey..." Strago paused, unsure what he would follow that with. Relm was
probably suffering from some sort of post-traumatic stress. After all, he reminded himself,
it's not every ten-year-old who fights to save the world.
"On the other hand...maybe she's just getting belligerent. Just like her mother."
He watched as Relm sketched a quick picture of Terra with an "X" over it.
"Or, Goddesses help us all, like her father."
Relm added the word "Uncute" to the caricature and started drawing whiskers.
For the seventy-fourth time that day, Strago sighed.