I don't own FFIV. I'm sure you guessed that already. As always, I welcome all feedback, including suggestions for improvement. Especially pointing out mechanical errors or plotholes.

I'm sorry this one is so short, but I'm going camping, and don't have time to put the next one up yet. I'll see about doing the next two chapters next week.

This chapter had some serious formatting issues, thanks to internet bugs. Hopefully it's okay now.

How to Save the Environment in Two Easy Steps

Step One – kill a lot of monsters.

Step Two – make the Lunarians go away.

by Maelstra

Chapter Four – In the Halls of the Baron King

"Our problem is straightforward, Cecil," FuSoYa declared stiffly. "However, the solution is far from simple."

"Explain, please," Cecil prompted. He had gathered all ten Lunarians – plus Golbez, Kain, Rosa, Cid, and a handful of his most trusted soldiers – into a council room within the castle of Baron. The table was completely full, and the Baronian soldiers had to stand around the walls of the room. Despite the awkwardness of such crowding, Cecil had been adamant that he wanted all involved parties present there.

FuSoYa bowed his head so deeply that his bald scalp reflected the torchlight. His unnaturally white hair and beard also shimmered strangely in the light, almost taking on purple highlights. "I will endeavor to do so as plainly as possible, although I fear that inhabitants of the Blue Planet cannot fully appreciate the seriousness of our situation." He took a deep breath and released it slowly. "It seems . . . Zemus's spirit does not rest easy, and his lingering malignancy has put our moon in a very grave situation. You know, I believe, that the lunar underground is an intricate maze of caverns, both natural and artificial. Most of the Lunarians have not left the Central Sleeping Chamber since leaving their old world, so we have long been unaware of what has been lurking in the other caverns. But due to some unsuspected curse of Zemus's – while most of us were sleeping, unaware – most of the tunnels of the underground have filled up with these terrifying, flying creatures which you have seen. We did our best to fight them back, but as I have said . . . they appear capable to absorb all spells and all magics."

"So please tell us, what is the current status of the remaining Lunarians?" Cecil asked solemnly.

FuSoYa inclined his head. "At present, we are holding the monsters at bay behind a powerful, magic shield that we have set up around one of the smaller chambers. We can't maintain this indefinitely, though – many feared we would not be able to hold out long enough to even return to the Blue Planet. We tried to send you a probe with a message, asking for immediate assistance, but the probe was waylaid by the monsters, and most likely lost."

"Now would that explain the earlier surge of those monsters, I wonder?" Cid murmured softly. Cecil took note and nodded thoughtfully.

"But just what are you asking us to do?" Kain asked rather bluntly. "Didn't you tell me earlier that only a few of the monsters followed your ship down? You can't seriously expect us to go up to the moon and kill all of them . . ."

"Oh no, Captain Highwind. That is not what we are asking at all. Given the gravity of our situation, our only hope is that your Blue Planet forces can aid us in stopping this problem at the very root. We would do so ourselves, but as you know, such a challenge plays more to your strengths than to ours."

Cecil frowned, "I'm sorry, but I still don't understand . . ."

Golbez tsked irritably and jumped in, "What he's trying to say is that these monsters seem to multiply insanely fast, so he thinks that they're actually being magically created from a single source. Of course, that means there's no possible way to kill them all unless someone can manage to find where they're coming from and stop that first."

"Why haven't the Lunarians found this 'source' yet?" Cecil asked, directing his comment mainly at his brother.

FuSoYa cleared his throat. "We have looked, Cecil – but the closer to the source we get, the thicker the droves of monsters. With Golbez being the only one of us who can effectively fight them . . . we cannot make much progress."

All the soldiers around the room – and even Cecil and his friends as well – flinched a little at the mention of Golbez's name. Several of the soldiers looked extremely concerned and murmured among themselves. Cecil's eyes darted around the room, and he was relieved to see that none of the soldiers seemed to connect the name of the fearsome wizard with the scraggly half-Lunarian sitting beside FuSoYa. Evidently Kain had not told them anything. Cecil wondered how long he could keep his soldiers in such safe ignorance.

"So you want the brute force of the Blue Planet to help you out, eh?" Cid said with a raised eyebrow. Then he laughed. "Well, you certainly came to the right people!"

"I thought so," FuSoYa said with deliberate dignity. "Now, Cecil – what is your word? Will you aid us, your father's people, in our time of need?"

That comment successfully directed all the soldiers' stares at their white-haired king; apparently word also had not yet gotten around to everybody that the paladin was actually not completely human. Of course, Cecil hadn't done anything to spread the word, either.

Cecil cleared his throat to hide his disconcertion. "Of course, Uncle FuSoYa. I and my forces will do whatever we can to save you from this terrible threat."