Set in Stone
Talkingmime09
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IV.
Author Notes: Spoilers warning. This is a short piece from Palom's point of view; that's the guy. Porom is the girl. Personally, I could never remember which was which until I wrote this fic.
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I've often heard the Elder talk about how you see your life fly by you right before you die, and you remember a lot of the important stuff that has happened. I guess five years isn't much to remember. There's a lot of it on training and learning new spells back at Mysidia, but really, who wants to remember that? That's just boring.
More recent memories, though, like our time with Cecil, that is more fun. All the adventure, excitement, and the thrill of not being safely confined in a young magician's study… What else could I ask for?
But despite the fun and adventure, I had failed to calculate the risks involved when we left Mysidia to accompany Cecil; a point that I'm sure Porom would be quick to point out to me. It never occurred to me that we might not make it.
Yet, I now find myself in a somewhat tight situation, one that is surely less than pleasant and far from fun. The walls are closing in on us. Literally.
You ever get that feeling? That dreadful sensation that something's going horribly wrong, but you can't do anything about it… You're just trapped, with nowhere to run. You can only sit there and wait, hoping everything'll be okay.
Wow, how depressing… I sound like Porom now, don't I? What a scary thought.
I'm kidding. My sister's not that bad; she just needs to lighten up a little. And she needs to stop calling me a brat.
But I guess right now isn't the time to be fooling around, or even wishing my sister could just act like the kid that she is for once. I mean, she's always trying to act grown up. I guess sometimes she forgets that she's just a kid too, like me. Oops, there I go again!
Well, back to the situation at hand. See, what happened was we had barely made it out alive from kicking Cagnazzo's ass. Of course, that's all thanks to me and my mad black magic skills. I sent that water devil running home back where he belongs—in hell. Yeah, baby! Well, I can't take all the credit. I guess Tellah did help a bit with his own magic.
So we thought we were all safe, right? I mean, we killed the dude and sent him to hell. Can't do much more than that. But when we try to leave, this freaky voice comes from nowhere, telling us to join him in the nether world. Just thinking about it sends chills down my spine.
Then before you know it, the whole place starts shaking like a wild chocobo, only scarier. And this crushing noise began coming from both sides of the room. Then I realized right there that the walls were closing in on us; they just began to move in together! Things were looking real bad.
We all tried to get out the door, obviously. I didn't want to get squashed like a bug yet, and I'm sure that the other five didn't think that sounded too cool either. The old geezer, or airship pilot—whatever, up at the front was trying to open the door, but it was locked. And that's when I got that strange feeling.
So, that's what happened. I guess this is what fear feels like. Or maybe it's despair. Time's flying by so quickly; so much is happening. I can't keep up, and it's kind of frustrating.
I look up and search Cecil's face for comfort. Adults are supposed to know how to get out of these things, right? Adults always had the solution. The Elder always did, and I know Cecil does, too. But I find only despair and panic in relief's stead as I watch the paladin glance hopelessly around for escape.
Yang is doing the same, in a much more composed manner though. The monk of Fabul is always quick to react, but even he seems lost now. Are the adults really out of ideas? Who am I to turn to now?
The answer is obvious. I go to Porom for reassurance. She's only older than my by a few seconds, but I never let her get any satisfaction out of that. Not that she seems to care. She tries too hard to act like an adult, and you never see adults bragging that they're older than each other.
My sister's face looks just as panicked as the others', but she's scared, too. I can see the fear mirroring in her eyes. Her gaze turns in my direction, and our eyes meet. There is a glint of something else there that I had missed. It isn't fear. It is… an idea.
Suddenly, I understand. No words are needed to tell me what she is thinking. I guess it's kind of like how people say twins have this telepathic link, sort of.
Not all hope is lost. Not yet.
My sister and I, we will make sure Cecil has his vengeance on Golbez. We'll make sure that everyone else gets out with their lives. Even if it means loosing our own. Suddenly I understand. The adults aren't going to save us this time. This time, it is up to us.
"We would have followed you forever, Cecil," Porom suddenly says, completely catching him off guard.
"It's been fun, Cecil," I continue before he is able to speak. I never thought I'd die this way… But it will be a heroic death. So, for Cecil's sake. For Cecil's vengeance.
My sister nods in agreement to a bewildered expression settling on the paladin's features as she adds an appreciative and sincere, "Thank you."
Now, I turn to Porom and take a deep breath to calm myself. "Ready?" I ask her. Already, I can see uncertainty and unease forming on the faces of the monk and elderly sage. Can they tell what we're planning? Either way, I'll miss them. Too bad there's no time to say goodbye.
Again, my sister nods. "Yeah," she replies.
The two of us position ourselves on opposite ends of the room, ready. So this is it.
"Stone!" The spell is cast just in time to turn my sister and me into stone, stopping the walls from flattening everyone into pancakes. Before the transformation is complete, I catch a final glimpse of Cecil's expression, a fusion of alarm, disbelief, and sorrow.
Silently, I think back to Porom's words, and a slight grin slides onto my lips.
Yes, we would have followed you forever…So don't fail, Cecil.
I can still barely hear the paladin crying out to us, begging us to stop. But it's too late. I close my eyes and let darkness take over.
Fin