A/N: This is an original fic by me. All summon's, character species, monsters, and some names are the property of Final Fantasy (more specifically Tactics Advance and TA2) and I do not claim to own them. Most character names and location names were my own creation and the storyline (minus the above mentioned) was also created by me.
I'm nervous to start this creation and would really appreciate feedback on how to improve.
Rating: T for violence, minor language, and minor romance
With no further ado, I will begin the story…
Prologue
Is everything caused by fate?
Were we meant to meet according to a greater destiny?
Did we know the great horrors that awaited us?
Had we suspicions of the friendships we would develop?
What is meant by time?
What is worth more than love?
Who are the Espers and why were we chosen by them?
Though I may not have the answers to any of these questions at this time, I want you all to know that we cannot avoid our eventual demise. It is what we do with the fragile lives given to us that meld us, that make us who we are, that shape our very core, and that transcend time itself. This is what makes us unique. The fact that we think, that we breathe air, that we can communicate, all are irrelevant. The fact that we can change, we can grow, and we can learn to love distinguishes us from all else. I know this because I went through a transformation over the last few months. A transformation that rattled all I knew to be true. Even to this day reality still seems like the alternate universe to what I found. The imagination cannot begin to comprehend what I have learned these last few months. The truth is that although I must face my past and return to a world that is no longer my "truth" I still love you. I love the times we laughed, the times we cried, the times we felt alone, the times we were there for each other…but most of all, the time we spent together. I would cross over oceans, deserts, and mountains just to hold you in my arms again. Unfortunately the one obstacle even I cannot overcome is time…and because of this mysterious force, I will never see you again and it breaks my heart…please understand I would have done anything to prevent this, but we both knew the day would come since I arrived. I hope you go on to live in this paradise of adventure and find a person who makes you feel ten times better than I ever could. Please live this life that I could never truly have and live it to the fullest. Nothing would make me happier than to know you were able to do that. Again, time is against me and for now I must say farewell.
Do not ever forget the love we shared…
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance: Ocarra's Talon
"Mrs. Cornwall? Could you please review the war of 3034?" A bright eager student sat on the edge of his chair excited to learn as much knowledge as he could. Several other students joined in his excitement as the test was coming up next week and all the review they could get now would put them ahead of their study tactics.
"Alright alright! Pay attention this time students!" The blonde teacher pushed back her glasses as she began to retell of the machinery advancements at the beginning of the 31st Century and how this led to shifts in military power. As she did, she shifted her bright, blue eyes to a girl sitting in the back yawning and writing things down on a piece of paper. She sighed somewhat at the end of one of her sentences knowing exactly what was being written…Nonetheless she could easily fill the student in later on the topic and for now continued to now venture on into the political side of the war.
Meanwhile…
Boring…who cares about stupid wars from forever ago? Carmela lightly pushed her dark brown ponytail to the side as she let out a slight yawn. She had no interest in this pointless history class. In fact, she did not have much interest for many things in this world. It bored her…just like the lecture. Instead of focusing on the lecture, Carmela took her pencil and began to doodle on the side of her notebook paper.
When she got bored she often doodled, which would later turn into full on drawings, and later become part of a world she had imagined forever ago. As she doodled, a new drawing formed. This particular drawing took the form of a giant dragon. It had always felt like a special creature to her…so full of power, so large...so intimidating…every possible quality Carmela lacked seemed to be embedded into the image of this dragon. Drawing its large wings, she imagined the firm grey tops and the leathery inner part of the wing. She could feel the smooth scales of the belly running alongside her back as the Dragon stood behind her, providing her with strength she lacked. She could feel the magic energy pulsating from its' mouth as a fiery rage poured out. It's beady, black eyes piercing into the souls of its' enemies who would cower in fear at the sheer force of the dragon.
Once satisfied that her emotions and imagination had been captured into the body of this doodle, Carmela than began to shade, she imagined the sun being high over head casting a small shadow just underneath the beast. It would cause the top part of the dragon's neck to be somewhat lighter than the rest of the body just to show how the creature glistened in the rays. The rest of the shadow slowly careening down to give a slight premise to the dark, raw power the beast possessed.
Admiring her doodle for a second she looked back at the dragon. It contained the perfect balance of light and dark from the contrast she had imagined. It was neither good nor evil, just a creature which was burly and commanding with a neutral demeanor. It was just, having the perfect balance of yin and yang. Like her other doodles though, this dragon was nameless until given the perfect name. Carmela took a moment to think about a name that would fit every quality she saw in the dragon. Blinking her eyes, she let off a soft smile as an image of a kind man appeared in her head.
"Bahamut…" She muttered as she fondly remembered the middle name of her late father.
"Bahamut?" Nearly jumping out of her skin as she heard a voice suddenly pipe up from behind her.
"Oh, it's just you…" Carmela replied as she then noticed Mrs. Cornwall standing behind her.
"You don't pay attention the entire period, you sit in the back the whole time during class, and you don't give a damn about history…and yet you intrigue me Miss Fioran," Mrs. Cornwall pushed her glasses back again as she stared at the detail of the picture her student had drawn.
"How long have you been sitting behind me?"
"Long enough…"
"Are you some sort of creeper? Sheesh…" Carmela then stood up, noticing it was late as she got up to leave the classroom.
"Carmela, you have talent as an artist. Have you ever considered taking an art class instead of history?"
"…not interested…"
"Carmela, I cannot make you like History, I know because I've tried multiple times. But, this is something you have a gift for. You should really take me up on this, please see me if you change your mind."
"…" Carmela did not respond anymore as she walked off. She had never really been good about expressing what she wanted or pursuing what she loved. Her mother did not like her awful grades and in order to achieve anything in this pointless world she knew wasting her time on art would not get her anywhere. Mrs. Cornwall had made a nice offer, but Carmela simply didn't want anything to do with art. To be honest, she felt like no one else should get to see the things she drew. It wasn't like anyone really cared about her anyways, so why did they deserve the honor of seeing her pictures?
Carmela walked in silence a bit further making her way towards the exit of the building. Oh great…she let out a slight groan as she noticed several of the football jocks standing there giving her weird looks.
Here we go again...she thought as she did what she could to avoid eye contact and walk past them. As she was halfway down the stairs they were lazily leaning on, she felt a pressure on the books she was holding and rolled her eyes as they went flying out of her hands.
Immature jeuveniles…she bent over to pick up the books as one of the jocks pointed and laughed. The rest soon followed as expected while Carmela then got down on her knees to collect the papers which had loosely drifted to the ground.
"Leave her alone guys! Not cool!" A male voice shouted as it approached. The jocks quickly looked up and scoffed.
"Here to defend Plain Jane?" The one closest to Carmela sneered as the other boy approached. The others chimed in with snickers at the nickname. It was stupid nick name Carmela had gotten in middle school that had stuck with her through high school. She was someone who didn't really show her personality often and didn't do anything to stand out. The butt of some awful joke, Carmela had been labeled as someone who was uninteresting and uncool.
"Her name is Carmela and yes I am. By the way you are all late for practice aren't you? I already called the coach to let him now you were loitering," The boy said grinning slightly as fear washed over their faces.
"You bastard Klain! You will pay for this!" The first jock yelled as the entire team drained out of the hall faster than a flushing toilet. Carmela had known Darrien Klain since she could remember. They had been neighbors since Carmela had moved in when she was young. The two of them had grown up together and spent lots of time together. They knew each other better than anyone else in the world.
"You alright?" Darrien squatted next to her as his sandy, blonde hair ruffled slightly. He began to help her pick up her papers.
"Sure…" Carmela shrugged picking up her last book as she stood back up. Darrien handed her his pile as she quickly combined the two and began to walk off.
"H-hey! Are you even going to thank me?" Darrien stuttered as he gave her a look.
"…I could have handled it…"
"Well at least walk you home Princess!" He grinned as he followed her.
"…Fine." The pair of them left the school as they walked home. Darrien began to talk about his day where he had failed his quiz and forgotten his homework again. He also talked about some girl named Cecilia who wouldn't hang out with him anymore due to some sort of argument. Carmela nodded the whole time, doing what she could to suggest she wanted the conversation to end. A lot was on her mind as she was reminded of Mrs. Cornwall telling her she had real talent as an artist. Although she wanted to punish this cruel world by hiding her work away and pursuing a real career, the words continued to echo through her head. Was she actually considering this art class?
"Are you even listening?" Darrien gave her a glance as she blinked, shook her head, and looked back.
"Sorry, I'm pre occupied…" Carmela did what she could to then look interested in this trite conversation.
"I can tell, did something happen today?" Darrien raised his left eyebrow in curiosity.
"Nothing important…" Carmela shrugged brushing the thought aside. As much as it was already going through her head, she didn't want to bother Darrien with her issues.
"Alright, well you know I've always been here for you so if you want to talk you know where to find me," He smiled at her warmly. While he didn't always understand her, Darrien trusted Carmela more than his own family. They had shared secrets with each other no one else knew and Darrien was grateful to have her in his life…despite how much she closed others out.
"Thanks…so how did that Geometry test go?" She awkwardly switched topics as she did when she was uncomfortable discussing something.
"Oh you know, math sucks haha…but I think it went ok, the study session with Justin helped a lot," He did what he could to hide a bit of a smile. Carmela had always known that Darrien was gay; he had come out to her a couple summers ago. He had just started seeing a guy named Justin with whom Carmela had P.E. with. Although his family didn't know about his sexuality, Carmela thought they made a cute couple. Justin was taller than Darrien, he had black, shaggy hair, his eyes were yellow, and he had a good body. It was the perfect person for Darrien to be with.
"Oh yeah I'm sure it was an enlightening study session…" Carmela rolled her eyes as she scoffed.
"Shut up," Darrien chuckled and blushed as he lightly slugged Carmela in the arm. The rest of the way home, Carmela let Darrien talk about plans he had with Justin for the weekend, about classes, about his family…it honestly did not really interest Carmela that much. When had she become so distant from other people? Did she even care about anything in this world enough?
As the thoughts raced through her head she shuffled through her papers and noticed the drawing of Bahamut. It made a smile creep across her lips knowing that art and imagination still made her feel like there was something in this world with caring about.
"So I guess this is my stop…" Darrien said as they neared his house.
"Yeah…" Carmela seemed uninterested.
"Before you go, I have a favor to ask of you. I know it's totally not your scene or anything…" Darrien nervously looked at Carmela as he twiddled his fingers. "I want to go to the dance, but I cannot take Justin, you know the whole no same sex couples or anything…"
"So you want me to go with you and someone else to go with Justin right?" Carmela said picking up the hint.
"Well…basically…" Darrien shrugged his shoulders.
"I'll think about it and let you know a little later ok?"
"Great! Well if you do I already picked out the tux, so you will need a blue dress ok?" He smiled as he took off. "Have a great day!"
"…fine," She replied as she continued down towards the next house. Darrien had hit on a good point, she really did not enjoy social settings or dances or what not. She preferred to be alone and either playing role playing games, or RPGs, or drawing more creatures to add to her world she had drawn for herself. However, Darrien had been there for her when her father died and many other troubling times in her life. It would be a small thing she could do for him, but an important one. But did she really want to put up with the bore of watching other people dance for hours on end?
As she pushed the door open and made her way inside her home, she saw her mother cleaning dishes. Ever since her father had passed away, her mother had put on weight and was never her bright, cheery self. It was apparent as she looked at Carmela with a sad smile.
"How was school honey?" She asked as she scrubbed out a cup.
"…fine," Carmela shrugged as she headed upstairs.
"That all you are going to say for the rest of your life?" Her mother sighed as she went back to the dishes. Carmela knew that this would be the end of their typical conversation as she made her way to her room. Inside, she took a look at the giant black and white mural on the wall. On it were pictures of monsters, humans, other humanoid races of different shapes and sizes, and the group of heavenly gods which she called Mechwa, or mechanized warriors. On it were pictures of 14 separate deities all composed of both fleshlike qualities and machine qualities. And now, she was going to add a 15th. She slowly took the picture of Bahamut, cut it out with a pair of scissors, and placed it amongst the other Mechwa with tape. Somehow it reminded her of her father and like the 14 other important people in her life, they were now watching over her and this land of misfits in her world. Here, where adventure ran rampant, the Mechwa were the symbol of justice and prosperity. With all of her heart she wished that she could be amongst the other humans and humanoids fighting monsters and making her living taking on missions with a clan of warriors.
But Carmela knew better, things would never be like this. There was no secret, magical world where she could do anything she wanted to. This was her reality; her father would never come back. As she sighed the then remembered the offer Darrien had proposed she knew he was one of the few friends she had in her life. She picked up her phone and slowly dialed his number.
"Hello? Klain residence," the polite female voice picked up the phone on the other end.
"Hey Mrs. Klain, can I speak with Darrien please?" Carmela put the receiver to her ear and held the phone with her shoulder as she began to look through her closet. There had to be some sort of blue dress she could wear.
"Oh hi Carmela! It's good to actually hear you talk for once, sure thing! I'll get him right away." Carmela then heard a thud as Mrs. Klain put down the phone, calling for Darrien. As she waited for her friend's response she felt the familiar velvety texture of a dress. This particular dress had been a present on her 16th bday from her father…just two years ago…It still fit her and was the color she imagined Darrien's tie would be.
"Carmela? What's going on?" Darrien suddenly answered the phone almost making Carmela jump.
"I thought it over, and I think going with you to the dance is a good idea. Plus, after everything you did for me, giving you and Justin the time would be the least I could do…" She said as she took the dress out of the closet.
"Oh great! Thank you so much! You remember the dance is tomorrow night right?"
"Yeah I got it…see you at six?"
"Sounds good, bye Carmela, I owe you!" Hearing the excitement in her friend's voice gave Carmela a warm feeling. Ok, so maybe there was another thing to care about other than art and imagination…
The next day…
"Carmela you look amazing!" Darrien said as he opened the door. She had her hair up in a bun and a string of fake pearls around her neck. She also wore the perfect shade of blue dress that ended around her knees. Although she would never admit it, she looked beautiful.
"Yeah yeah, let's just get this over with," she impatiently stated looking less than thrilled to do this at all.
"Haha alright, give me a second…" He said as he grabbed his jacket and the tickets he had purchased earlier. He was thrilled to have a friend like Carmela who would do this for him. He then held out his arm and chuckled as his friend rolled her eyes. With resistance, she put her arm around his as he walked her towards the dance.
"Come on, you have to admit holding the arm of a cute guy is fun," He smiled at her.
"…whatever you say," Carmela shook her head as they walked down the street, looking like a married couple. As they wandered along, they noticed several other well dressed couples from school heading that same direction as well. After a few more minutes of walking in silence, they arrived at the doors. Inside was the sound of thumping music, feet dancing, and people laughing. Carmela softly groaned as she really did not want to do this. After Darrien got their tickets approved, the pair went inside.
"Ok Justin is going to be a few minutes late, so let's go get pictures to show my mom later," Darrien said leading her towards the camera person. Carmela shook her head.
"Do we really have to?" She pleaded with Darrien.
"Uhh yeah, how else is mom supposed to think we are here 'together'?"
"You know you could just tell her who you are really here with…"
"After the fiasco with Uncle Harry? Yeah right…" Darrien shifted his glance away from his friend, obviously pained. About three months prior to this dance, Darrien's uncle had come out to his family with his partner. Although Darrien was thrilled to have someone in his life he could relate to, his parents hadn't taken it well. Communication was becoming harder and harder to hide from his folks who wanted nothing to do with his uncle. It had pretty much stopped any plans Darrien had made to follow his uncle's footsteps…
"True…hadn't thought of that. Fine let's just get this over with so you can get lovey dovey with your boyyyyfriend…" Carmela teased him slightly as he blushed and walked her over to the photo booth.
"Wow you two look stunning," The photographer said as he changed films.
Carmela ignored the comment as stood in the boxed off area. Darrien wasn't far behind her as he put his hands around her waist. It was weird having a gay man put his hands around her waist, but Carmela wasn't intimidated. She knew he wasn't holding her in a loving way or in some creepish way. He was just posing for a shot. Turning her head she gave off the same cheesy grin her date gave. After the bright flash nearly made her blind, the photographer gave them a thumbs up and as soon as they could, the exited the box.
"Alright those pictures should be ready within the hour, make sure to come back later to pick them up. Have fun you two," The photographer winked as they walked away.
"Oh look there, I'm sure that will distract you for awhile…" Carmela pointed to the well dressed man in the yellow tie approaching them. She grinned as his shaggy black hair hung loosely on his shoulders. Justin looked really nice.
"J-justin hey!" Darrien blushed looking slightly upward at his boyfriend.
"You look really nice babe…" Justin slid his arm around the other and quickly pecked him on the lips. Darrien let out a sigh of happiness at the brief reunion.
"Thank you…"
"Haha no problem, let's go dance!" He then grabbed Darrien's Hand as the pair moved to a crowded part of the room. Alone again, Carmela walked over to the punch bowl table as she poured herself a drink. Now she just had to somehow let the night drag out for a few more hours and then she could go home and be back with her drawings and imagination again. Taking a few sips of punch, she suddenly felt a presence behind her.
"So…how are you doing tonight fag hag?" A gruff voice stiffly said. As Carmela turned around, the kid's hand shot up, spilling the drink on her dress. "Oops, did we get punch on Plain Jane's Dress?" He laughed as three of the other jocks approached.
"What the heck is wrong with you?" Carmela said, feeling heat rise up in her body as she clenched her fists.
"Oh I don't know, I think spilling a drink is better than letting some gay boy come with you as your date," He chuckled as his crew joined him.
"Don't you have anything better to do like becoming dumber?" Carmela sneered as she began to walk off. As she did one of the jocks blocked her exit.
"Trying to be smart huh? Well we will have to fix that," One of the jocks then grabbed her fake necklace and ripped it off of her. A second jock picked up the whole punch bowl and threw it at her. Several other students complained as bits of juice got on their clothing, but as they looked at Carmela now drenched in punch, they began to laugh at her.
A third jock began to reel back his fist to hit Carmela, but as he did a hand grabbed his wrist. He turned back to see Justin holding his hand.
"Didn't your mother tell you not to hit a lady?" Justin glared as he bent the kid's wrist back slightly. The jock cried in pain as the other three friends rushed over. Before they could get there a whistle blew.
"Alright folks, that's enough. Show's over!" Mrs. Cornwall walked in between Justin and the other kid, separating them. "All four of you students are suspended from this dance as of now. Get out before I call the cops!" She glared at them as they ran away, snickering at Carmela who was still soaking wet. "Carmela, are you ok?" She then let go of Justin as she offered a hand to the girl.
"J…Just forget it!" Carmela backed away and then ran off tears running down her face. As she did Darrien called out to her but she didn't care. She just had to get away from this awful dance. As she fled out the front and down the steps, she ran towards town. Anywhere away from home or the dance is where she wanted to be. As she ran into town, she felt her feet began to hurt. Quickly pulling off her high heels, she sprinted away from the dance, the punch slowly causing her whole body to feel sticky. It was gross, but right now she didn't care. She felt embarrassed and alone.
A few minutes later she had reached downtown. She continued to walk along the streets, her tears having dried up from earlier. There was one place she could go when she needed to get away from everything…the Game Lounge. The store had opened up several years ago. It was where Carmela first developed an interest in RPGs. She had beaten most of the games they owned, but nonetheless she enjoyed having a place she could go where she could truly be alone. Turning the corner, she saw the familiar neon lights blinking just ahead. A sigh of relief emitted from her mouth as she walked up to the door and let herself in.
"Hey Carmela…what happened?" A man said as he started to greet her but then noticed the dry punch on her dress.
"Nothing, just give me an RPG and an hour alone Walter…" She avoided eye contact as she held out five bucks.
"You are in luck; we just got a new game in. Never heard of the title or the developer before…Some unknown third party," He said handing her the game. As she looked at the shiny, embroidered cover, she noticed the title in the top corner.
"Final Fantasy: Ivalice…I haven't even seen reviews for this yet…must not be that good…" Carmela muttered to herself as she looked up. "Have there ever been any 'Final Fantasy' games before that you can remember?"
"Not that I know of, as far as I know this is the first game by this 'Squaresoft' company," He shrugged as he then handed her a remote. "Anyways, you have played all of the other RPGs in this store…try something new for a change…"
Carmela gave him a nod as she then headed for the back corner of the giant room. The system needed for this game was the PS3 which the consoles were located in the back of the store. As she found an open television and station, she plugged in the control, put in her portable memory card, and then put the game into the slot.
As the screen booted up, a haunting melody began to come from the screen. It sounded vaguely familiar, dark, and beautiful. It rose to her ears as words began to come from the television. Images of fighters and beasts alike appeared as the worlds poured out.
A great love so pure and true,
Sympathy rains from the skys of blue,
A world of adventure awaits you,
This Final Fantasy…
Carmela then watched as graphics on the screen became violent as the fighters began to wage war with the beasts.
I tell of a kingdom filled with scorn,
Of people lost, lives taken, few born,
A night of which is too forlorn,
This Final Fantasy…
The screen then filled with color as a beautiful blond girl with a tiara and a blue dress looked out of a balcony on the screen. She seemed sad as she let go of a flower which floated off into the night sky. As she did a brunet female pirate appeared behind her, covering her mouth and bounding her as she carried her off.
A sinister plot grows from the nightly blues,
A hero is needed to fill the empty shoes,
Good or evil which will you choose?
This Final Fantasy…
Several screens flashed by of a general sending out soldiers into battle, a man and a woman in a loving embrace, a giant pirate ship, and a sinister looking man with an evil smile. As Carmela watched, fascinated, the words "Final Fantasy: Ivalice" then appeared on the screen.
Those graphics are fantastic, better than any I've seen before…it was almost real looking…Carmela thought to herself as the title screen uploaded. There obviously was no load game option since no one had played it yet so without much thought, Carmela clicked on the option "New Game."
As she uploaded a new game and clicked to save the file on her memory card, Carmela watched as words appeared on the screen. "Read the following out loud…" a droning female voice began to talk to Carmela. As they did, Carmela did not feel much like talking and pushed the 'x' button to try and continue. When the screen did not shift, her eyebrow raised. She tried pushing start, the L button, the R button, the joystick, select, and every other button possible. When nothing worked she raised her eyebrow skeptically and opened her mouth.
"Read the following out loud…" She quietly muttered feeling silly doing this. As she did, the screen then switched. Weird…she thought to herself as more words appeared on the screen. She figured this was cutting edge technology where she had to read exactly on the screen.
"Oh ye who doth choose to accept the quest, we in the land of Ivalice are facing a dreadful plight, our Princess from Yelptara hath been kidnapped by dastardly pirates. If you truly wish to join our cause and set the world right, please state your name…" Carmela then stopped reading as this came up. The screen was now filled with words and an image appeared on the screen. It looked somewhat like her except somewhat skinnier, having a belt with a satchel, and a knife on the side.
At the sight of herself as a character she stirred a bit in her scene. However as she did, she noticed a blue light on top of the television and settled down again. This is awesome! She became excited. This must be the new cutting edge motion technology! She vaguely remembered reading about this stuff in a magazine lately. So the game could hear her voice and make a character based on her appearance. She eagerly waited to see what would happen as she hit the x button again.
However, as she did, nothing happened. She tried pushing buttons again but the screen wouldn't change. As she re read the words to herself softly she looked at the last part, "please state your name…uhh alright…" she still felt somewhat uncertain about this as she slowly then took a breath.
"My name is Carmela Fioran…" She stated looking deep into the television. As she did the room began to shake. She dropped the controller as she tried to run out of the store. Making her way past all of the falling televisions and video games, she got to the front desk, but Walter wasn't there. What the heck was going on?
She then bolted towards the front door and attempted to grab the handle. No sooner had her hand grasped it, she felt something wrap around her. Carmela looked down to see white, digitalized hands grabbing her waist…and then begin to pull. She screamed as she was pulled back and she held onto the handle with all of her strength. It wasn't enough though as now the hands pulled harder. With one final gasp, her hand slipped and she was flung back with the hands, back to the far corner of the store.
Carmela did what she could to plant her feet on the ground, trying to pry the hands off of her, but nothing seemed to work. The next tug caught her off guard as her feet went flying. Although going backwards she could see out of the corner of her eye the hands were coming from the television she had started the game on.
Come with me, to Ivalice!
The voice in her head came out unexpectedly as Carmela continued to struggle. The words seemed sorrowful almost as if they were begging her. She strained as the hands now reached the television. How was this happening? No more time was given to her as the hands then pulled her passed the screen. It was strange to feel the glass seem to melt against her skin as her body entered the electronic device. One last effort allowed her hands to grab the edges of the television, but it was no use, she was going to be pulled into this game…this isn't possible…this isn't possible… She let out a cry for help as her hands once again slipped and she fell into darkness…
End Prologue
A/N: One final thing, those song lyrics were written by me so do not think I stole them from somewhere. I would never put something like song lyrics from someone else into my own work.