Hello, everybody this is Cyber Emblem, coming to you with my first non-Fire Emblem related fanfic since I started writing Crusaders Reborn (my first ever story was non-FE, but it only got 2 ½ chapters, and it was terrible, so I deleted it years ago). This was a story idea that I had about two or three years ago, but I kept it on the eternal backburner due to wanting to focus on college and C.R.
Originally, I wanted to write a collection with one story based on each of the first seven games, but due to putting this potential story on the backburner and losing any notes I may have written as a reminder for myself, I've forgotten five of those prospective scenarios.
Yet despite that, and it being years since I last played the game, the character of Ricard Highwind and the circumstances of his death in Final Fantasy II has stuck with me all of this time. (The same can be said for Duane and Katarin from VI, that's the other basic scenario for a story that I remember, one focused on them. If you don't recognize the names, they are the teenaged couple from Mobliz, the town where all the adults died and Terra takes care of kids in the World of Ruin).
Thus I remembered what I had planned, and now I have finally gotten around to writing this story. I could remember most of the basics on my own, though I did do some research on the game as a refresher for some of the details, mainly names. (A good thing I did that too, I had forgotten there wasn't an h in Ricard!) Final Fantasy fans, I hope you guys can get some enjoyment out of this story by a casual fan!
Never once in his life had Ricard truly imagined this scenario ever coming to pass, the day that the dragoons would become extinct. Once the pride of Deist, the dragoons had been the nation's most stalwart and steadfast defenders, with the possibility of their extinction being only in their furthest thoughts and darkest nightmares.
Yet Emperor Mateus of Palamecia, with his army from the depths of Hell, quickly made it a habit to make the worst nightmares of men into a raw and horrific reality.
Thanks to his scheme of poisoning Deist's water supply while Ricard was absent, Mateus had turned nightmare into reality for Deist. All the other dragoons had been wiped out, including his oldest friend, Phillip. They had died alongside their kingdom.
Besides Ricard, all that remained besides ruins was a single young wyvern and Phillip's widow and young son. Ricard had promised to her that he would return to her once this conflict was over, and the last survivors of Deist would be a family.
Now he knew he would be unable to keep that promise, for the events unfolding before his very eyes proved that Emperor Mateus truly was a nightmare made flesh. It seemed that the embrace of death, delivered via Ricard's own hands… had only proven to make him stronger still somehow.
Oh how proud, how relieved Ricard had been by the vengeance he had achieved when he had performed that act! His heart had been overflowing with glee. But in the instant that the Emperor had appeared in his new form in a flurry of demonic energy, he had instantly regretted it all, every positive emotion that he had felt regarding the emperor's death.
In a way, Ricard felt that this was his fault. The Emperor was constantly making backup plans that topped his previous schemes, who was to say that his death had not been planned? Thus, if that was the case, it was Ricard's zealousness that had put them in this position in the first place.
Still that left some hope. Whether Mateus had intended his demise or not, there was a chance that the emperor would recognize the one responsible for causing it, and make him a priority kill. That gave the others a chance to escape if he stayed behind and made himself a target.
He knew it was suicide, but likewise, he knew that it had to be done. He, knew of the losses that his companions had already dealt with previously, and while he hated to deprive Firion, Maria, and Guy of a companion yet again and thus lessen their chances of an effective counterstrike… wait, but what was this?
As Ricard was regarding his companions, his eyes latched onto Maria's treacherous brother, the dark knight, Leon. His reaction to the Emperor's return had been anything but happy, and he was glaring at the demonic visage before him, eyes full of hatred and fear, weapon at the ready.
"The enemy of my enemy…" thought Ricard. He had already called down the last wyvern one last time and given it its last command "Save my companions." now, he made an addendum to that command "Save the dark knight as well".
The winged beast swooped through a hole in the ceiling and snatched up the four of them in its claws and sailed out of the chamber. The emperor prepared to launch a spell at them as they departed, but Ricard had already prepared a counter spell, which provided distraction enough for them to get out of range.
As the emperor glared down upon him, Ricard's thoughts briefly turned to those he was about to leave behind.
Firion, young, determined, a bit awkward around the ladies, but full of promise for a future as a great knight. How would another death on his conscience affect him?
Guy, rather slow but strong and loyal. He'd help Firion keep it together, but Ricard wondered how long he'd be able to keep it up before he needed someone to keep HIM together, as he knew even the toughest men could be damaged by circumstances like this.
Maria… she was probably going to go through a massive mental crisis due to recent events. She had been so sure that her brother's actions were not the results of his own choices but of manipulation, but… the one brief meeting that Ricard had had with young man had been enough to convince him otherwise.
She was going to have a hard time reconciling the man she had envisioned her brother as with the man he had become. Ricard's own demise was probably going to be the last thing on her mind for quite a while, and when she finally thought of him again, she would probably feel horrifically guilty for discarding him from her thoughts.
Ricard wished that he could tell her that it was alright. Considering the circumstances and what she was going through, he would understand completely. But alas, he had no means of telling her. He could only pray that the reasonable Firion or perhaps Princess Hilda would come to the same conclusion and use it to help Maria to forgive herself quickly.
Richard then thought of the wyvern. What would it do now that he was about to die? He could only hope that it would survive the journey home and find some way to continue the legacy of the dragoons. Or if not, live a peaceful life in a world on the mend.
Now his mind turned homeward, toward Elina and Kain, the wife and son of his oldest friend. Poor woman, his companions had gone out of their way to bring him home to show him what the empire had done to his home, to have the two of them meet once more.
He had seen that she had been hopeless before lying eyes upon him. He knew because he had seen the hope enter into her soul once more as soon as she looked him in the eyes and knew that it was truly him. Now… his companions would not keep her ignorant of his demise. That hoper would now fly from her just as swiftly as it had come to her.
He wondered how long she would survive in this devastated, godforsaken world without hope. She would live for at least a little while, if only for Kain's sake but… a mother's love for her child, no matter how strong, wasn't a strong enough motivation to guarantee a continued survival, especially with a devastated heart weighing her down.
He only hoped that she could find some new reasons to continue living, for the sake of her son. If not… he could only hope and pray that they would first settle down in a place that would provide Kain with a secure future before she passed on.
Now he thought of Phillip and the rest of his fallen comrades. As the grip on his lance tightened, he whispered "Friends, companions, countrymen. I salute you, for I shall be joining you shortly. But first… I shall try to make the end memorable, so please give me strength!"
He looked his enemy straight in the eyes, and without a trace of fear in his voice shouted "Emperor Mateus! If that is the name you still deign to use. Look down, if you dare, upon the man who slayed you! Now, I know not if you had it planned that way, but it doesn't matter. What does is that, through death, you have come back as this, a being stronger than you ever were as a man. Thus, in a way, you owe me for making you into the supreme being that you are now."
The Emperor glared down at him, and said not a word. "Thus, here is my demand for the debt that you owe me in return for this great service that I have rendered you. I, Ricard Highwind, last of the dragoons, demand that you acknowledge me, and give me a proper last stand, instead of the one-sided slaughter that I hear that you gave my countrymen! But be forewarned, you may have more than a little trouble spilling my blood!"
The Emperor stared at him for a moment as he charged up a magic attack, then he looked at the hole in the ceiling through which Ricard's companions had just departed, then he looked at Ricard again and laughed as he let the spell dissipate.
"You have an admirable spirit, and speak bold words for a pathetic insect, last of the dragoons." declared the emperor. "I shall enjoy making you rue them. Yet, despite the gall inherent to one such as yourself requesting anything of me, you do make a valid point. I suppose that I can easily slay your companions another day. Very well, Richard Highwind, I grant your request." he said, in an almost mocking tone.
Then the emperor lunged forward and slammed a massive claw into the floor in front of Ricard. Ricard saw the attack coming and was thus able to leap out of the way in time. In his time fighting alongside the others, he had picked up a couple of spells to use in a pinch. He knew that they wouldn't do much against a creature such as the emperor, but he uttered one now. Using his lance as a conduit, he channeled a lighting spell through it and directed it at the emperor's eye.
The emperor raised his hand slightly in order to block it. As Ricard had expected, it didn't do much damage, but it did create a very brief blindspot. He seized the opportunity, pushed himself off the ground as soon as he had landed and plunged his lance into the side of the emperor's arm. Then he used that as a springboard to launch himself at the emperor's face.
He was batted away, but Ricard twisted himself like a cat and his feet landed flat against a pillar. Once again, he launched himself forward, but this time, the emperor dodged and counterattacked himself, slamming an open hand down. Ricard rotated and barely got out of the way. He brought up his lance and clipped one of the Emperor's fingernails.
A slight growl escaped the demonic visage and while he clearly still did not go all out against Ricard, he did force the dragoon to stay on the defensive after that. Regardless, the last dragoon still managed to get one more good attack in. One well place leap enabled him to knock one of the emperor's teeth out.
This minor victory, however, was immediately overshadowed by the fact that Ricard now found that the Emperor's new body had multiple rows of razor sharp teeth, akin to a shark's mouth, and thus it was likely his teeth were inherently weaker than normal.
In possession of spare teeth or not, this still angered the emperor, who promptly tried to bite down into Ricard. Ricard threw his lance to the ground and held the massive jaws open. Concentrating, he used one of the other spells that he had learned and filled the Emperor's mouth with ice and leapt out, launching himself towards his lance.
Unfortunately for him, this last act cause the emperor to become fed up with the game that he was playing with the last dragoon. Just as Ricard scooped up his lance, the emperor swatted him with all of his might.
Ricard was sent flying across the room until he struck the wall, and not with his feet. Somehow, he had managed to survive the blow, but his armor was now badly damaged and he was coughing up blood. Still, he got to his feet. The emperor promptly fired a magic spell that obliterated his armor and snapped his lance in two, and sent Ricard rolling across the floor.
"And so it ends for the dragoons." declared Mateus.
Ricard crawled forward and grabbed one half of the lance with each hand and forced himself to his feet. He looked at the emperor and glared at him.
"Hmm… as admirable a death as any worthy foe that I've ever faced. Farewell, dragoon." said the emperor, and he fired one last magic spell. When the smoke had cleared, Ricard was gone.