Final Fantasy VI-2: Clyde's Journey
Chapter XXI – The Sixth Dream
Now with a worthy match to any enemies that might attack, the group reentered the forest with great confidence. Edgar was practically parading himself like a soldier, shouldering his spear, standing up stiff as a board, and marching with pride.
"Eh, are you aware of how stupid you look, bro?" asked Sabin.
This comment seemed to stem the king's moment of pomposity, much to Clyde's satisfaction. For some reason now, Edgar really bothered him. Perhaps it was his snobbish attitude growing on him ever since he entered his castle. Or, maybe Edgar was jealous that Terra paid Clyde much more attention, which was beginning to annoy Clyde.
"We are fortunate that Phoenix dropped his pursuit," said Cyan.
"Dinosaurs are not much better," said Edgar.
A sudden loud roar made them jump straight into the air, the five of them immediately taking cover behind different trees. A few moments of silence passed before Clyde peeked his head around the trunk.
"It's nothing. Let's keep a move on," he said, the others following him as he took up the lead.
"As traveled of this world as my person is, I must say that I have never beheld such fearsome creatures before," Siegfried commented.
"Hah, these freaks are nothing compared to the Eight Dragons!" boasted Sabin.
"Or the mighty Behemoths," added Clyde, recalling the incident in which he was trapped inside the Cave on the Veldt by two Behemoths.
"No beast is able to stand to our might!" Cyan said proudly.
"That's right! We fear nothing!" Sabin followed up.
"Well said, brave soldiers!" Siegfried added.
Then, a hideous roar sounded right behind them, nearly blowing out their ears. Standing just above them was a snarling Tyrannosaur, a sight that made Sabin scream and dash for cover once again.
"Sabin! What are you doing?!" Edgar called, chasing after his brother.
"Wait! Don't run from-" Clyde was cut off when the beast's thick tail whipped him on the side, throwing him to the ground.
Cyan and Siegfried wasted no time in confronting the monster, hacking away at its large feet. The Tyrannosaur howled in fury, stomping around angrily. The two swordsmen quickly cleared away from it when it was more alert to their presence, watching them coldly with its bright orange eyes.
"The two siblings have disappeared. I fear that we stand little chance against this creature!" said Siegfried.
"We cannot disperse yet!" said Cyan, ducking just in time as the Tyrannosaur's tail came sweeping over his head.
As Clyde stood from the ground, the beast spotted him. The dinosaur roared hungrily and dove for his bewildered form, snapping its humongous jaws. As its knife-like teeth approached, Clyde hastily sliced his sword across its snout, causing it to recoil in a fuss.
"Clyde! The Tyrannosaur is angry! Take cover!" Cyan shouted.
Before Clyde could take his words to heart, the monster swung its heavy head forward, knocking him off his feet with a powerful impact. As he fell to the ground, the Tyrannosaur angled its neck in his direction, ready to swallow him whole. Mouth gaping wide, Clyde could feel its hot breath flooding over him. Just as it was about to devour him, Sabin Figaro's fist came flying from the side, pounding the beast in the jaw and sending it staggering away.
"Sorry about my absence, fellas!" Sabin jested.
The Tyrannosaur wheeled around in anger, ready to charge down its attacker. Luckily, Edgar came close behind his brother and fired several crossbow bolts into its scaly hide, setting it into an even more volatile state.
"The beast grows weary!" Siegfried interjected.
"Snarling and salivating doesn't indicate 'weary' to me!" said Sabin.
"Guys! Look out!" cried a small voice behind them.
The men turned around to see a brief flash of the very same Tyrannosaur in a sort of holographic image before noticing little Relm running up the path with her paintbrush in hand, waving in the air. The four veterans caught on immediately and ran for cover once again (Clyde not realizing how peculiar this was to Cyan, who knew that Clyde had never witnessed Relm's magic before), and Siegfried took a moment before he noticed that they were hiding, taking cover as well. He did this just in time as a sudden vicious tornado spawned from Relm's direction, swirling all around their area of the forest and hammering the Tyrannosaur with wind-based magic.
"Ah jeez!" said Sabin, nearly being sucked up by the Aero spell, remembering that when in close proximity the spell would damage anyone in its path no matter who the caster was.
"Ugah!" roared the familiar grunting of Umaro.
As the wind cleared, the white Yeti suddenly appeared flying across the tree branches. The Tyrannosaur was already swinging its head weakly, indicating its fatigue, and when Umaro thrust his fist into the monster's jaw with double the force of Sabin's previous strike, it succumbed to the blow and fell sideways into the trees, collapsing to the ground.
"Damn," said Siegfried in amazement.
A few seconds passed before anyone made a move, all watching the animal to be sure that it was finally finished. When all was safe again, the heroes regrouped joyously, welcoming the company of Relm and Umaro.
"Relm, have you seen any of our other comrades?" asked Edgar.
"Well, Gramps is being a little chicken-shit back there and hiding in a tree," she replied.
"Let us fetch the old man!" said Cyan.
"Ugah!" Umaro added.
Gathering their bearings, the team proceeded to follow Relm to the location of Strago. Heading a few hundred yards east, she stopped before a short tree where a red cloaked form could be seen perched on a branch, his whole body covered.
"Hey! Grandpa! We've got company!" she hollered.
Strago looked up nervously, shaking with fright until he recognized his friends.
"Oh! Clyde! Edgar! You're all alright!" he cried, immediately dropping down onto the branches one by one with his staff in hand, landing a little roughly on the ground.
"Oof!" he cried.
"Take it easy, old man!" Relm scolded.
"My, the lass doth possess a coarse tongue!" Siegfried commented, receiving a quick glare from the little girl.
"I am so glad to see you fellows!" the old mage said as he stood.
"We are glad to see you as well, sir," Clyde said happily.
"Now we just need to find Locke, Celes, Setzer, Terra, and Gau…"
"First, let's make sure that Mog and Sir Owzer are doing ok," Clyde suggested, turning around to find them.
"More delays… I'll be surprised if Terra isn't eaten by the time we find her," Edgar said impatiently.
"Put a sock in it, Your Majesty!" Sabin said hotly.
"Now siblings, let's be friendly," said Strago.
"Don't be such a prick, Edgar!" Relm interjected.
Clyde ignored them as the group began to rag on each other, following the same path they came from and finding the border of the forest once again, looking around sharply for his friends as the daylight gradually turned into the deep orange of the evening hours.
"Mog? Sir Owzer? You there?" he whispered.
No reply.
"Hmm."
He moved further along the forest edge and made his presence known, hoping to catch their attention eventually if they were still hiding.
"Come on guys, where are you?" he called out.
Clyde looked around frantically, fearing that the worst could've happened to his friends, who were vulnerable to everything without protection. Sir Owzer did not handle pressure well. He shuffled through all bushes in sight, still finding no sign of the two. Then, as he continued to search, he noticed something on the ground outside. Sitting idly in the dirt was a familiar blue bandana, and right next to it was a group of footprints leading off to the west.
"Hey Clyde! You find them yet?" called Sabin.
"No, but I found Locke's bandana I think!" he replied.
Moments later after many seconds of rustling in the trees and bushes, his companions joined him at the border and looked on as he presented the bandana and the many footprints of many different people leading away.
"Maybe Locke and the others found our friends," said Strago.
"Maybe Locke is hurt… I know he would never discard his bandana on purpose," said Edgar.
"Unless it was supposed to get our attention," said Cyan.
"I don't know if he would risk losing it by leaving it out here though," Sabin covered.
"Perhaps it is a decoy meant to deceive our eyes!" Siegfried suggested.
The others looked at him incredulously.
"Can you say 'paranoid'?" Sabin scoffed.
"We should follow the footprints," said Clyde.
"A wise plan!" Cyan agreed.
Relm and Umaro took the bold first steps on the trail, and the others began to follow. Clyde quickly grabbed Locke's bandana, but was halted by Edgar.
"Ahem. I'll take that. Locke can depend on me," he said snobbishly.
Clyde threw a look of distaste at the king and politely handed him the bandana, proceeding to follow the group after doing so. He was starting to become concerned that their clashing would ultimately lead to something worse, and as unafraid as he was of Edgar's combat skills… he was still Clyde's friend deep down, despite Clyde's claim to himself that Shadow no longer existed.
After a lengthy march through the barren wasteland of the World of Ruin, the sun slowly approaching the horizon, the footprints led to a new and remarkable sight. Where there was once a single house in the middle of this nowhere, now stood a small settlement of people with many houses. It was the beginning of a new village that the heroes never would have expected here, due to the reclusive manner of the old man that lived in the formerly lone house.
"Imagine that… a new establishment!" said Strago in wonder.
"I wonder if that crazy old geezer still lives here… oh wait- you came from Thamasa, Strago," Sabin joked.
"You are a regular comedian," Strago replied dryly.
"You jest so cleverly amongst your allies. 'Tis a sign of a healthy ensemble companionship!" Siegfried commented.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Relm asked rather poignantly.
"Relm, show some courtesy please," said Clyde.
Finding it almost shocking that Clyde would scold her like that, Relm immediately shut up. She had a great respect for him, seeing that his wisdom could easily match with that of her grandfather. Surprisingly, she saw a bit of him inside herself for some reason. Then, a familiar bark met their ears.
"Interceptor!" she cried, running towards the excited dog as it wagged its tail, standing by a small tavern.
The citizens of the establishment looked at the curious group suspiciously, eyeing their weapons and armor with distrust. The heroes merely smiled as they passed, trying to come off as relatively harmless.
"What's all the ruckus- Sir Clyde!" Owzer exclaimed as he stepped out of the tavern.
"Sir Owzer, you are alright!" Clyde said with equal enthusiasm.
"Miss Celes, our friends have arrived!" Owzer yelled back into the tavern.
Out of the doorway behind Owzer came the bright face of Celes, with Mog at her heels and Gau crawling around wildly on the floor behind her.
"Guys! It's so good to see you again!"
"Likewise, dear! It is most fortunate to see you all in good health!" said Strago.
"Hey, what about Locke?" Sabin asked.
"Oh… well, Locke is alright. But for now he is resting because he's still in a lot of pain, along with Setzer and Terra," she said seriously.
"What has happened?" asked Cyan.
"When we all fell from the Falcon, Locke, Setzer, and Terra took a very nasty spill across the trees and they were scraped and bruised pretty badly. Setzer broke his arm and Locke twisted his ankle. Fortunately I was able to perform at least one cure spell on the three of them before my magic failed, and I gave them some potion, so most of their wounds are gone but the pain remains," she explained.
"As long as we are all alive," said Edgar.
"Yes. But now I think its time for all of you to rest too. The locals have offered us this tavern exclusively for as long as we need it, so find a room and get some sleep," she said.
"A brilliant idea!" Cyan agreed.
"'Tis quite the hour for a spot of rejuvenation," Siegfried said.
"Ugah! Rest good" Umaro added.
"You said it!" said Mog, who had just appeared from behind the bar.
Sabin took the valiant first step to the second floor, where all of the lodgings were located. The floor they were presently on contained a small bar and tables, along with a small stage up against the wall for entertainments. For now, however, the building was completely empty save for the heroes.
"So, we have this tavern all for ourselves?" Clyde asked as the rest began to ascend the stairs.
"Mhm. It's very convenient for our needs at the moment," said Celes.
"Holy shit there are a lot of rooms! I call this one!" said Sabin, claiming the first room after the stairs.
"I put Locke, Setzer, and Terra in one room so the rest of you could have one for yourselves. I'll stay with them tonight to make sure they stay alright," Celes told them.
"Your kindness holds no bounds!" Cyan complimented her, taking his leave to another empty room, save for a single bed, chair, and a desk.
"I do wish you all a good evening, and I hope to arise from my fresh rest later this night," Siegfried said, bidding them goodbye and departing for another room.
Soon enough, all had found their own space and all had immediately begun to nap on their slightly uncomfortable, but bearable beds. It was still very early evening, for not a lot of time had passed since they left the forest, but all of them were exhausted still from the day's events. Clyde was very content when he could finally shut his eyes again and rest his body up from the tiresome day… and soon he began to drift away from reality and found himself once again in the world of his subconscious.
Now, Clyde stood on a hill. This hill was covered in beautiful green grass with colorful flowers all around. Before the hill was an amazing meadow… like something out of a dream. Well, it was a dream. The sound of birds chirping and the cool breeze passing was so peaceful to him. This was the most amazing thing he'd experienced in so long. Suddenly, a strong hand came out of nowhere and gripped his ankle, startling him greatly. He looked down in fear to see a bloody, battered body holding on to his leg tightly.
"Aah! Who are you?" he screamed.
As the person looked up, Clyde instantly recognized him despite his badly bruised and cut up face. It was his old comrade Baram, fatally wounded as he was on the last day they saw each other.
"C-Clyde… you betrayed me!" Baram's phantom gasped.
"No! I didn't mean to! I just couldn't bring myself to do it!" Clyde pleaded.
"You betrayed me! I… c-counted on you… for so long… you… betrayed me!" it stammered.
"No Baram! I swear I never meant for your end to come about so horribly!" the warrior cried.
"Why did you… betray me?! You were… my best… f-friend! We were… partners!" Baram continued.
"Baram! I was doing what I thought was right!" Clyde answered, completely defenseless in the justification of his abandoning Baram.
Baram's grip on Clyde's leg tightened greatly, causing Clyde to attempt a step backwards, but he was held firmly by his friend.
"Don't run, Clyde… I met my d-destiny. It is time you met yours… it is… time…"
Hearing the suspicious sound of a sword being unsheathed behind him, accompanied by a violent blast of wind, Clyde instinctively dipped his shoulder and threw himself to the ground in a complete body roll, retching Baram's grip from his leg and dodging the massive blade as it came whistling past, a great white blur speeding by him.
Then, Clyde woke up with a choked scream, panting and sweating in his bed, still fully armored with his sheathed sword on his belt. He looked around frantically in the pitch black darkness of the room until he realized that he was finally awake. Just another dream.
"My, you certainly have a disturbed past, Sir Clyde," said a sinister voice from the dark.
"What the..?! YOU!" Clyde roared.
Despite being unable to see, Clyde relied on his superb hearing when he leapt forward from the bed, slamming into the body of Thomas Geeda and crushing him against the wall with a loud strike.
"Argh!" Geeda grunted.
Clyde grabbed his enemy's shoulders in the dark and hurled him across the room, right into the desk and chair. He heard the distinct noise of Tom unsheathing his sword, and he quickly did the same. Several empty swings were taken by both men in the occluding darkness, their blades nicking the walls constantly until both swords clashed, a set of sparks flying from the impact.
"You son of a bitch!" Clyde shouted.
"Your insults mean nothing!" Thomas retorted, jabbing forward in the darkness.
Thomas' sword passed right by Clyde, and the warrior could feel his adversary's arm brush by. He took advantage of the situation and grabbed hold of Geeda's arm, swinging him around the room and letting go at the most opportune time, which sent him flying out the door and breaking it wide open. As the light poured in, Clyde hurled his sword with deadly accuracy straight for Thomas Geeda's form as it stumbled against the wall. The blade narrowly missed its mark and became imbedded in the wall as Geeda fled from the scene.
"Oh no you don't!" Clyde growled.
He ran from his room and yanked his sword from the wall, following Tom as he dashed down the hall and practically leapt down the stairs to the first floor. Clyde sharply rounded the corner of the stairs and threw his feet into Geeda's back, sending him bowling forward head over heels. As Clyde took a swift thrust for Thomas Geeda, he recovered immediately and parried the blow quickly. Thomas got to his feet and engaged Clyde in a vicious duel, swinging his sword madly at the warrior.
"You will never escape my presence Clyde! I am Thomas Geeda… and I am everywhere!" he taunted.
Clyde had little difficulty in defending against his opponent, but was taken by surprise when Tom jumped into the air, swinging above and around Clyde with a strange, ethereal motion as if controlled completely by magic. He then made a sudden dive with his sword pointing straight forward. The blade sliced right across Clyde's right shoulder and arm, cutting incredibly deep and causing him to cry out in pain. Upon landing, Geeda knocked Clyde to the ground with a simple elbow to his bleeding shoulder, producing yet another cry from his enemy. When he was down, Thomas Geeda kicked him sharply in the stomach, laughing maniacally.
"Do not underestimate my strength, Sir!" he declared, stepping away from his fallen rival and casting out his hand.
"Pearl!" he shouted.
"Figa!" came another shout.
As Clyde was bombarded with a triad of white orbs that shot down from the sky, tossing his body across the tavern, Geeda was taken by surprise when a small comet came down from the ceiling and exploded right at his feet, throwing him back a good distance. He continued to laugh as Celes and Cyan came rushing down the stairs, hardly scathed by the magical attack.
"I see your magic is gradually returning to this world! Flare!" he hollered.
Both Celes and Cyan were launched from the foot of the stairs to the opposite wall by the immense Flare blast. Then, as the likes of Siegfried and Gau followed their comrades, Geeda sent them sprawling with a quick Blizga spell.
"Uwaaoo!" Gau cried as he fell to the ice damage.
"Hey! Asshole!" Edgar called from atop the stairs, his crossbow at the ready.
Thomas grinned as King Figaro fired his automatic weapon, throwing up a powerful magic shield that melted every single bolt as it came his way. Outraged at his simply being present, Edgar revealed his powerful spear and charged forward, lunging for Geeda. His spear was quickly deflected with the sword, and the two began to exchange blows with Edgar putting forth a lot of fury, and Thomas carelessly blocking his every advance.
"How dare you try and attack us like this!" Edgar snapped.
Geeda made a sharp horizontal strike across his spear and knocked it straight out of his hands. Then, he shot his hand forward and clutched Edgar's neck tightly before pulling back and throwing him into a nearby table.
"I fear none of you!"
"That's about to change you skinny bastard!" yelled a voice from behind.
Thomas Geeda hardly expected the results when Sabin Figaro's powerful fist came flying into his face. The force was so powerful that his feet actually left the ground as his body flew straight over a table and crashed right at the base of the stage.
"Imp!" Tom growled.
Sabin was immediately overcome with a weakening sensation before he was instantaneously transformed into a little green imp, looking at his hands in disbelief.
"Oh shit!" he said in an incredibly high and squeaky voice.
Thomas Geeda smirked as he staggered to his feet, stalking towards Sabin's imp form with murderous intent.
"Now we'll see how well the 'stick' fights against the 'imp'!"
Then, without warning, a chair came flying as if out of nowhere and broke right across Tom's upper body, his body dropping like a rock with pieces of wood falling right on top of him. Clyde, the thrower of the chair, came running forward with his sword held in his left hand. As he attempted to cut down the fallen Geeda, the madman quickly rolled to the side and jumped to his feet as if he had sustained no damage throughout the entire fight. Soon, both Edgar and Clyde were upon him at once, but Thomas Geeda made a surprising jump in the air and performed a complete back flip over the two men's swings. As he landed, he delivered a deep cut in Edgar's left arm and shoulder as he did to Clyde's right. Then he called a Telepo spell and vanished instantly.
"What's going on here?!" Owzer said as he came waddling down the stairs with Umaro, Mog, Strago, Relm, and Interceptor behind him.
They gasped at the sight of the recovering heroes. Celes and Cyan were tending to Clyde and Edgar, while Siegfried and Gau came to the aid of Sabin the Imp.
"Oh my goodness!" breathed Owzer.
"Thomas Geeda," Edgar said bitterly.
"Son of a bitch!" Sabin said in his still squeaky imp voice.
"Holy crap! Is that you Sabin?" Relm said with an odd mixture of excitement and worry.
"Yes it's me! He transformed me into an imp! Can someone get me a freaking green cherry?!" he ranted.
Relm began to giggle at the noise of Sabin's high voice, especially when it grew agitated.
"Goodness, maybe we should keep him this state," Cyan joked, applying pressure to Edgar's wound while Celes fetched her potions.
"Laugh it up!" Sabin squealed.
"Thomas Geeda came here?!" Owzer said with surprise.
"His tactics are ruthless and I think he'll do anything to be rid of us," Clyde said through gritted teeth, holding a cloth up against his deep wound.
"He is a most vile creature!" Siegfried commented, assisting Celes in searching for potions and possibly a green cherry for Sabin's ailment.
"We shall need to double our efforts!" said Strago.
"Well said!" Owzer concurred.
As the team recovered from the shock of the incident, everything eventually grew calm again. Those involved with the fight were given sips of potion to ease their injuries, and Clyde and Edgar were applied bandages to their respective wounds delivered by Tom. Sabin was finally turned to his normal state, much to the relief of everyone's ears. Some of them feared that the high frequency might eventually break glass at some point. As the night continued on, things relaxed to a secure level finally, and they no longer worried about the surprise attack by their greatest enemy.
"Sheesh, what time is it?" said Sabin.
"Eleven," Mog replied, dancing around on the bar and glancing at the clock when Sabin asked.
"I'd say this has been one of our more exciting days," said Edgar.
"Well, from being chased by a giant bird of fire, to crashing in a forest, to fighting dinosaurs, to battling a crazy swordsman with unbelievable magic control… I don't think I have ever seen so much action in one day," Sabin mused.
"Ah, hast thou forgotten the journey of the Phantom Train?" Cyan suggested.
"Or perhaps Ebot's Rock, eh?" Strago said with a grin.
"What about Kefka's Tower. Can't forget that one!" Celes added.
Clyde was beginning to get that awkward sensation again, and he hated it. He wished that he could make them stop their nostalgia, but to do so would be an utter impossibility. He considered abruptly leaving their company and heading upstairs without a word, but knew that this would place much suspicion on him. For now, he would have to deal.
"Thine group seems to be of quite the adventures in your past journeys, good fellows. Dost your noble faction ever get a day of rest?" asked Siegfried.
"It was certainly a rarity for us," said Celes.
"No kiddin'!" said Relm.
"Always fight!" Umaro commented.
"Uwaoo! Fight! Fight"
As the night continued, Siegfried got the opportunity to familiarize himself with their team some more. He grew very accustomed to their personalities and was able to understand well their intentions for the world, finding them to be incredibly noble souls that he would be glad to assist. The group collectively welcomed his aid. For, despite his way of speaking that was like Cyan times ten, Siegfried possessed an incredible knowledge of things and an unseen wisdom that accompanied his powerful swordplay. These assets were to hopefully prove useful in the days to come. And for now, they decided it was finally time to rest some more, having been rudely awaked from their sweet sleep by an unwelcome visitor. The next day, they would make their time by seeking out newer transportation to get them around the world easier, hoping to find something as versatile as the Falcon. But for now, things were out of their hands and they all decided to sleep soundly that night.
"We have a long way to go… but I am certain we will prevail," Clyde said to himself before sleeping once again, this time completely uninterrupted and completely at peace… just the way he preferred.