Final Fantasy VI: Embracing Ice

Prologue: Maranda Burns

"Mom I'm done with my chores, I'm leaving now!"

"Wait, Caz!"

Caz Takumi groaned as he slowly turned around to face his mother. Caz was of average height, slightly skinny but fit and athletic with short yet messy light brown hair. He tried to hide his impatience but it was evident on his face as his mother made her way to him.

"And where are you going young man?"

"I was just going to the forest for a bit. It's safe mom."

His mother wasn't placated however.

"Caz that forest can be dangerous; there are wild animals in there. And what if some Imperial patrol mistakes you for some thief or deserter?"

"MOOOOOM I'm 17 I can look after myself and besides they have no reason to come this close to Miranda. They've been dealing with some rebels up in Tzen."

"I know Caz, but still be careful. Rumors are swirling that some rebels may be hiding here, so we have to be on our guard."

"They won't come burning down our whole town because of some rumors and my chores are done so please may I go?"

"Oh I suppose, but come back for dinner or your father won't be happy."

"I promise mom, see you later!"

Caz quick gave his mother a hug before dashing off through the town of Maranda, past shops, decorated houses, flowerbeds, inns and finally past the limits of the town itself. The forest was just a little ways away from the town. It was a big and open forest with little undergrowth to prohibit movement. Caz liked going to the forest when he could because it was quiet, peaceful and he could do whatever he wanted within the bounds of his imagination. Sometimes he imagined he was fighting imperial soldiers from Vector, other times he was an imperial general and eradicating the rebel forces known as the "Returners." Today was peaceful however, the sun drifting through the canopy of trees was warm and a light breeze drifted through the forest and rustled the leaves on the trees. Caz made his way over to a particular large tree and sat down cross-legged with his back against the trunk. Closing his blue-grey eyes he relaxed and focused on listening to the surrounding forest. Caz liked this quiet time, even though he lived in a beautiful town; Maranda was considered by some to be the most beautiful town in the world, but it was still noisy and Caz disliked noise, preferring isolation and silence instead. The wind blew gently, and rustled the leaves on the trees leaving a soothing percussion of sound. Insects buzzed incessantly as they flew around the forest. Birds chirped as they flitted around looking for food or looking for twigs and leaves to build their nests.

Hours slowly crept bye and soon it was evening with the sun slowly setting and the sky a brilliant array of red, orange and yellow. Caz slowly opened his eyes rose to his feet and stretched, feeling great about his day. Caz walked briskly towards the edge of the forest back to Maranda. He was going to be a little late, hopefully his father wouldn't yell at him too much. As he came to the edge of the forest Caz suddenly froze, eyes wide open in shock and a glimmer of fear appeared on his face at what he was seeing. Maranda was burning, his hometown was on fire. Black smoke roiled up to the sky as homes in the town were ablaze. Caz looked just to the right of the city limits and saw lines of imperial soldiers, some on foot and some using those frightening Magitek machines that could supposedly use magic, a powerful destructive force thought gone from the world. The Magitek armored units were lined up and firing beams of fire into Miranda. Suddenly the Magitek units stopped firing into Miranda and the Imperial foot soldiers began their terrifying march towards the city as they looked to enter it. Caz broke into a dead run towards Miranda. He had to make sure his parents were ok. Caz entered the back of the city out of sight of the Imperial army and sprinted to his house, his breathing ragged and catching in his throat as his heart pounded rapidly from both adrenaline and fear. As he neared the neighborhood near his house he starting passing burning houses, some burning brightly while others were already smoldering heaps of ashes on the ground. As he turned the corner Caz saw what remained of his house. Charred and blackened wood lay around the ground, where his house had stood, there was now nothing.

"Mom! Dad! Where are you!? Mom! Dad!"

"They're gone Caz. They were in the house and didn't make it out."

Caz turned and saw his neighbor old man Yamamoto, his face blackened with soot but tears brimming around his old eyes that had seen too much death and destruction in his life.

"T-They can't be gone! They can't!" Caz screamed.

"I'm sorry Caz, those Magitek units fired a fire beam that went right through your house, and your parents didn't have a chance."

"W-Why are the imperials from the Empire attacking us?"

"I'm not sure, but I heard that Returners were rumored to be recruiting here and the Empire decided to make sure that's not going to happen. I also heard that they're going to take the young boys and men that survive and force them to enlist in the imperial army. You should go Caz, don't let them catch you."

"Where should I go? I don't have any other family or place to go Yamamoto."

"Anywhere is better than here young Caz. Find somewhere away from war, from suffering, from death and live your life in peace, that's what I would do. But in case you need to defend your own life; take my sword and wield it with purpose, but don't wield it with hate or you'll only destroy yourself. Live so that you can make a difference and change this world for the better."

As old man Yamamoto offered his sword Caz solemnly reached out and grasped it. The blade was old but it was in decent condition and as Caz slowly swung it carefully to gauge the weight he found it was light and it was a little top heavy but it was still a good sword. Caz looked at his neighbor with tears in his eyes.

"Thank you; I won't forget your kindness."

"Hurry now and go Caz, Imperial soldiers will be in this part of town soon, run while you still can."

Caz nodded and broke into a dead sprint back out of his ruined hometown and back towards the forest that he was accustomed too. He had to get out of the general vicinity of Miranda, yet night was falling fast and it would be dangerous and almost suicidal to try to avoid imperial patrols at night. The forest was a different place at night. Given Caz was now without a family and a home it was now surreal and felt foreign; no longer a comfortable place to spend his time. The forest was eerily quiet now, the birds asleep in their nests except for the lone owl that gave an occasional hoot. Cicada's buzzed noisily in distant parts of the forest but other than that there was no other sound. Caz slowed to a careful and quiet walk. He didn't think he'd been followed from the burning town of Miranda, but he still needed to be careful and if he walked quietly he could hear if someone else came within his vicinity. Caz walked for what seemed like hours slowly becoming aware of how tired and hungry he was. He settled down underneath a tree with his back to the trunk; the sword Yamamoto gave him in his lap so it was within reach if he needed it. Caz tried to come to terms with what had happened today; his hometown was razed and his parents were killed. He was on his own, possibly on the run from imperial soldiers of the Empire and now he had to figure out what to do with the rest of his life. As these thoughts flashed through Caz's mind he slowly closed his eyes and let sleep claim him.

Voices murmuring in the distance jolted Caz awake and he rubbed sleep from his eyes and jumped into a crouch, sword at the ready. A crescent moon slanted beams of moonlight through the forest canopy but the light was dim at best. Caz stayed behind the tree trunk as the voices drew closer. Soon he could make out what they were saying.

"General Celes, Miranda is firmly under the Empire's control now. All resistance has crumbled and been dealt with and all able-bodied men will be enlisted in the imperial army."

"Good, job well done Lieutenant" replied a commanding yet soft, feminine voice. "What were the casualties for us and for the town?"

"Barely any casualties on our side General thanks to your perfect plan, but there were moderate amounts of civilian casualties."

"That's unfortunate; we need the citizens to believe in the Empire and to support us. If we go too far we will only incur rebellion as the citizens grow to hate us. Next time we'll try to reduce the amount of civilian casualties for our next encounter."

Caz's heart pounded wildly as he listened. They were imperial soldiers and one of them was a General! Caz had to get out of there without being noticed before they got close enough to find him. Keeping his eyes in the direction of the voices Caz started to slowly edge his way around to avoid an encounter with them.

CRACK!

A twig crackled as Caz accidently stepped on it.

"Who's there!?" the Imperial General's aide shouted.

Caz sprinted to another tree trunk and hid behind it, trying to contain his panic, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He heard the footsteps of the two Imperials coming closer to his location. Caz gripped his sword tightly as the footsteps grew louder. He didn't want to fight but he wasn't going to let himself be captured either and forced to enlist after the Empire had murdered his parents. Caz slowed his breathing to try and relax and clear his head, he needed to be rationale if he was to get out of this alive. Suddenly the footsteps ceased and the forest was silent again. Caz waited with bated breath. Did they know where he was? Or did they give up and leave? Caz waited a few more moments; then he decided he had to take the risk. Slowly, sword at the ready Caz crept out from behind the tree.

"General Celes, there he is, there's the intruder!" shouted the Imperial Lieutenant. Caz turned to the voices; they weren't more than 15 feet away and were looking right at him. The male who Caz knew was the Lieutenant was tall and stern, he looked about 40. The female general took Caz's breath away. She looked about his age, slightly taller than he was. She was wearing a green combat uniform with a white cape about her shoulders; her hair was shimmering golden in the moonlight, her skin pale as the moonlight and looked smooth as glass. The thing that startled Caz most were her eyes, ice blue, staring at him without a hint of surprise or emotion. It was like staring into a frozen pond and seeing your own reflection. Caz also observed that both the General and her Lieutenant had drawn swords.

"General this could be an escaped rebel from Miranda, we should apprehend him immediately."

"He looks more like a civilian Biggs; he looks too scared to be a hardened Returner." The General turned to Caz and addressed him.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Caz took several deep breaths to steady himself and he tried his best to not look frightened and locked gazes with the General.

"I am a survivor of your massacre at Miranda today. Because of you my parents are dead. J-Just leave me alone."

The man Biggs looked at his superior. "General Celes he looks like he's of age to enlist in the army, we should take him into custody."

Anger suddenly blazed from within Caz, these people, these Imperials had been part of the attack that murdered his parents and they wanted him to fight FOR the Empire? Caz looked at the man with all the contempt he could muster.

"Did you hear me? You sacked my hometown and murdered my parents. You think I will fight FOR THE EMPIRE?!"

Biggs immediately starting walking towards Caz.

"Stupid kid, you will enlist in the imperial army as per Emperor Gestahl's orders, you have no choice in the matter or do you think you can kill us and walk away?"

"I said l-leave me alone!"

Caz charged towards Biggs and slashed his sword at the man's face only to have his stroke deflected to the side by Biggs sword. Biggs thrust back at Caz's chest and Caz twisted around to the left to evade it. He made a clumsy attempt at Biggs leg but Biggs easily jumped backwards to avoid it.

"You got nerve fighting with an Imperial, kid, do you want to die?"

"No, I just want you to leave and leave me in peace. I don't want to kill you but I will if I have to defend myself and I will never serve your Empire."

As Biggs charged Caz parried his sword blow with his own sword and reached out, grabbing Biggs sword arm. Caz then turned his body into Biggs and elbowed him in the gut soliciting a gasp from the imperial soldier. However Biggs swept out with his leg took Caz's out from under him, as he fell Caz pulled Biggs to the ground with him, both losing their swords in the process. They rolled on the ground, both fighting for dominance. Biggs was older and far stronger, but Caz's adrenaline was pumping hard as he was fighting for his life that he was able to keep the Imperial from pinning him to the ground. Caz brought up the heel of his right hand and cracked Biggs right in the chin, Biggs let go of Caz as he absorbed the blow and it dazed him. Caz jumped to his feet picked his sword off the ground and swung it downwards at the Imperial. That was then Caz remembered there were two Imperials and as he swung his sword at Biggs he glanced up at General Celes and saw her hand pointed at him and muttering some strange incantation. Frigid air rushed in, the world suddenly seemed colder and Caz stopped his sword mid swing and brought it up to his face to protect himself from whatever was approaching. Caz saw a flash of blue-white light and then it hit him in the face. Caz yelled in pain as his face became cold and he dropped to one knee. He felt liquid trickle down his forehead and realized it was blood. Luckily it seemed his sword had stopped most of whatever had tried to hit him and he had only been grazed. As more blood trickled down his forehead Caz looked at his sword in shock, the blade was frozen solid in ice, and as he watched, the blade cracked and then splintered into pieces.

What…the hell?! That…was…..MAGIC.

Caz broke his thoughts and looked at the blonde Imperial General. Still he saw no emotion from her, as if ice itself was in her veins. Caz stumbled backwards and in one motion turned and ran, zigzagging his way in case of another attack and he kept running. Even as blood streamed from his wound, he didn't care. All he knew was he had to run; he couldn't fight magic and win. He ran for what seemed like days, he didn't know how far he ran or where he was running to. He ran until his legs were rubber and he felt dizzy from losing blood. He stumbled forward and collapsed to the ground as he lost consciousness.

...

Biggs coughed as he got to his feet. He had been embarrassed; an Imperial soldier losing to some dumb kid. If General Celes hadn't been there he could have died. Biggs retrieved his own sword and noted that the kid's sword was encased in ice from the guard down but the blade was fractured into pieces. Biggs looked at his commanding officer and bowed.

"Thank you General for intervening. Should we go after him? He got away, we must catch him."

"No, let him be Biggs. As he said, we killed his family when we captured Miranda, having someone enlist with that much hatred in the Empire wouldn't do any good."

"But General; what if he makes contact with the Returners and becomes one of them?"

"Then we will deal with him as we deal with any Returner, Lieutenant. Do I make myself clear?"

Biggs swallowed hard. "Understood General Celes. It should be morning soon; we should head back to the camp."

"Very well then, lead the way Biggs."

"As you wish General."

...

Caz awoke with a start coughing as he came to.

Where…am I?

As he looked around Caz realized he was in a tent. He tried to get up but groaned as his muscles were stiff and he could barely move, he felt a hand on his chest.

"Whoa, slow down kid, you just woke up, take it easy it's still morning yet."

Caz turned and saw a young man by his side, about mid-twenties wearing a bandana over his brown hair and a blue vested shirt.

"Who, are you?"

"Relax kid, it's safe. Taking the direction you came from and the state I found you in you must be from Miranda."

Caz was wide-eyed as he heard that.

"You're not with the Empire are you?"

The young man chuckled. "Nope, can't say that I am. Very opposite in fact, I'm with the Returners."

"Returners…." Caz let the sentence drift off. He still didn't know if this man was a friend or an enemy but it looked like he'd found Caz unconscious and taken care of him. The young man then reached into a pocket and took out a small flask, uncorked the top and offered it to Caz.

"Here; this will make you feel better it's a tonic."

Caz accepted the flask and drank it slowly, it tasted mildly sweet and he felt his strength starting to return faster.

"Thank you, for rescuing and taking care of me."

"No problem kid, though I will say your injuries were a little strange. The wound on your head healed fine but your hairstyle is a little weird."

"What do you mean?"

The man reached into his pocket and took out a smooth black rock, completely smooth and polished like glass, so much that it reflected everything off of it and Locke held it in front of Caz so he could see. Caz's hair was light brown, short with bangs just above his forehead but now he had a lock of hair above his right eye that was pure white, like it had been frozen over permanently.

That must be a side effect of whatever magic General Celes used on me. Guess I'm stuck with it.

"I see what you're talking about now."

"Oh well, it doesn't look to bad on you kid. Anyways take your time and rest up, I have Returner business to take care of but you can keep the tent." The man started to rise and exit the tent.

"Wait…mister…let me come with you."

The man wheeled around. "You want to come with? You're not some Imperial spy are you?" he asked half-joking but his eyes were also mildly serious.

Caz shook his head, "I'm serious. Because of the Empire I have no family anymore, and I want to help the Returners defeat them."

The man nodded in understanding. "Well then I guess I'll take the risk then. I'll take you to Banon and if he approves we'll begin your training." The man grasped Caz's hand and helped him to his feet. "Oh by the way my name is Locke; Locke Cole, don't forget it."

Caz smiled. "My name is Caz Takumi; nice to meet you Locke."

Authors Note: About time I started a new story. Anyways this one will be really interesting. I have a more in depth picture than normal so I should be able to update faster than my usual slow and erratic pace. (And also if my pc doesn't die on me. It's a 6 year old laptop and it's starting to go on me and might last less than a year at this rate.) Anyways this chapter is as I called it a Prologue since it leads up to the main story. This is my first time writing in the FFVI fandom but it's easily my all-time favorite game. Anyways I hope you'll enjoy this story as much as I will enjoy writing it. Reviews are encouraged and appreciated and I hope to roll out the next chapter soon. Until then, don't let Kefka destroy your life, hopes and dreams.

Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo, or square soft or Final Fantasy VI (well I own a copy of the game) but I don't own the rights to the story, characters other than my own OC; Etc.