A/N: Hey, guys! In the previous chapter, our twelve heroes explored the Floating Continent, where they discovered that the crystals chose them from among the fourteen chosen ones destined to save the world, and their blessing made them stronger. They also defeated several monsters, including the ancient weapon of mass destruction used in the War of the Magi, the Ultima Weapon, but Shadow, feeling he did not deserve Terra and the others as allies after what had happened with the Empire, left them. Will they be able to stop Kefka without him? Let's find out!
Chapter 25: The Cataclysm
(Objective: Find the statues of the Warring Triad before Kefka!)
(''Sinister Sundown- Kingdom Hearts II OST'')
Characters:
Terra
Mog
Locke
Celes
Edgar
Sabin
Cyan
Gau
Setzer
Strago
Relm
Our eleven heroes could not stop, not while the world was in danger. They ran as fast as they could and used the teleportation devices scattered around the Floating Continent, but despite this, it was as if they were running through a maze. ''At this rate, it will take us forever to find those statues!'' exclaimed Relm.
Suddenly, Sabin was grabbed by a lamia, which tried to crush him, but he freed his arms and threw a Blizzara in the snake-woman's face, freezing her, then threw her away and destroyed the ice, killing her instantly. ''Stay away from me, you serpentine seducer!''
''How do we deal with Shadow, kupo?'' asked Mog.
''We don't have time to go back and look for him.'' replied Celes.
''You understand what Shadow said, didn't you? After what happened with the Empire, he believes he is getting in the way. He also wants us to resolve the matter on our own.'' said Edgar.
''I don't even know if we can get there in time!'' said Cyan.
''Hold on, I'll do something.'' said Terra, charging magical energy. ''Hastega!'' Everyone received the effects of the Haste spell, thus gaining greater mobility.
''That's more like it.'' Locke said.
Because of the stressful situation and the lack of time, no one faced monsters in combat, everyone completely ignored them, jumping over the platforms and falling areas and continuing to run despite their shortness of breath.
''I swear that if I see Kefka again, I will stab him.'' said Celes.
''Maybe kill him too.'' added Cyan.
''Sounds good too.'' replied Celes.
''I don't care if I die, but we have to stop Kefka and Gestahl at all costs.'' Setzer said.
Although Terra perceived the magic of the statues of the Warring Triad more clearly, no one yet managed to find the right path.
Gau opened a passage with his clawed nails, but it led nowhere. ''Wrong way.''
Sabin took the road high, but it was a dead end. ''No.''
Another road, taken from the ground, had an access that was blocked by a, but the statues were visible from afar. ''Nope.''
"Negative.'' said Celes.
''Come on, let's get that right...'' mumbled Locke, clutching his bandana from stress.
Our heroes continued, but most of the roads they took and found turned out to be wrong, bringing them back or preventing them from continuing.
''Wrong!'' said Setzer.
''Not this one.'' said Edgar.
''Not this one either.'' said Cyan.
''No, wrong path!'' exclaimed Sabin.
''No good!'' said Relm.
''A total do-over, kupo!'' cried Mog.
In the long run, all this became nerve-wracking. Gau fought his stress by biting his sharp nails, Edgar looked at his guns, and Sabin seemed on the verge of tearing his hair out. ''I can't take it anymore! Let's just reach for that psychopath already!'' he blurted out.
''This is not normal.'' said Setzer.
''It doesn't matter! I will never stop!'' declared Strago... only to end up tripping and hurting his leg. ''Ow! I hurt my knee!''
''Grandpa! Easy! You've got a certain age!'' exclaimed Relm, a little irritated.
''Do you think we have time for this?'' cut Celes short.
''I feel the magic of the Triad a short distance from here, we are almost there.'' said Terra.
(''Sinister Sundown- Kingdom Hearts II OST-s'')
(''Fatality Theme 2- Mortal Kombat Trilogy OST'')
When they finally reached the place where the stone statues of the Warring Triad were, the members of the Returners stopped in shock. Kefka and Gestahl, both of them, were in front of the three statues. The statues were arranged in a triangle, with Sephilos the Fiend on the left, Zurvan the Demon on the right and Sophia the Goddess on the top.
(''Light World Dungeon- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past OST'')
''Well, well, well, what a surprise.'' said Gestahl.
''Oh, no, not that a***ole again!'' cursed Relm.
''This is ridiculous!'' exclaimed Locke.
''It's over, Kefka! We will stop you!'' said Terra, sword in her hands.
''I have a score to settle with the two of you.'' said Celes.
''I see you're all there. You have all come to die... and you are just in time! Witness the Warring Triad.'' chuckled Gestahl. With a flourish of his arms, he drew sparks of magic to himself.
''What's going on?'' asked Cyan.
''He's absorbing the power of the Triad!'' replied Terra.
The old emperor increasingly perceived the power of the Triad of his palms, and absorbed even more. When he finished, he laughed, almost madly. ''The power... the power of the Warring Triad... I have goosebumps!'' he sneered excitedly.
''Emperor Gestahl! Please stop this madness!'' said Celes. But Gestahl ignored her and released the power of the Triad over the Returners. Everyone were hit and were forced to their knees, except Celes, who instead lost his balance and almost fell from the floating peninsula.
''We are paralyzed!'' exclaimed Sabin.
''Not again! Not now!'' said Strago.
''I swear these two love to be hated, Kefka in particular.'' commented Locke.
Gestahl approached Celes and put his hand on her shoulder. ''Celes... Come with me. You are special. I could entrust you and Kefka with the role of reigning over the world with me, and perhaps, generating the new generation of my Magitek empire...'' he said.
Celes reacted instinctively, sticking out her tongue in disgust. She remembered well her penultimate day at the Empire, when Kefka had raped her.
And speaking of Kefka, he took Celes' sword from its scabbard and handed it to her. ''You have to make a decision. Either them or us. Kill them and we will turn a blind eye to your betrayal.'' he ordered.
Cyan looked at the woman intensely, almost expecting her to betray them. ''Wait, Cyan. You don't know. It's up to her to decide.'' Edgar told him, and this avoided an angry reaction from him.
Looking at her reflection on her sword, Celes knew that she and Kefka were not so different. It was just a lab experiment to become a Magitek Knight. She wasn't supposed to love, she wasn't supposed to show anything but ferocity, even though Locke, Terra, and everyone else in the Returners thought the opposite. The more she looked at that sword, the stronger a feeling of tiredness became in her and extended to everything. She didn't want to be involved in this cycle anymore. She turned her back on Kefka, approached the others and raised her sword.
''Don't do it, Celes! Don't listen to him!'' shouted Setzer, but Kefka cast Silence, preventing him from saying anything else.
''Kefka, you and your thirst for blood and destruction are violating the Warring Triad! Did you get lost or relied on your beastly dragon-like instinct? Also, do you have any idea of who you have in front of you, poopface?'' Relm snapped.
''Celes, you are more than that, I know it! You and I have faced the same things. Don't do it, he wants to make you a slave to you again. We can do it, we can save the world, together, that's not how it's supposed to end. We are not toys, we are not puppets to use for Kefka's personal fulfillment, we are not machines for the purposes of others.'' said Terra.
Celes had her arm in place, just before the fatal slash, but she realized she could not move. She was again in a situation where she had to decide which side to be on. She had to make a sharp movement and kill her allies, but it was as if she was also paralyzed. She was breathing heavily, had a lump in her throat, her nose was tingling and her hands trembled at the idea of doing this. She realized she couldn't do it, all while Kefka mimicked gestures and yelled at her to do so, and what triggered these feelings was Locke. They looked into each other's eyes, and she could see that he was almost resigned to the worst, even though he hid it. ''Celes... do what you have to do.'' he told her.
(''Light World Dungeon- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past OST-s'')
(''Ganondorf's Execution- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess OST'')
''Thirst for power only breeds death. It's something we'll all be better without.'' said Celes. She turned to Kefka, holding her sword with both hands. ''And with them, I will get rid of you! I am no longer your object, your possession, I am no longer the woman you raped, and I won't be your puppet anymore!'' she then shouted, and with a scream of war, ran towards Kefka a moment later, piercing his chest with her sword. Kefka screamed in pain.
''TAKE THAT, YOU FREAK!'' Sabin and Cyan roared at the same time that Celes had stabbed Kefka.
Celes pulled out the bloody sword from Kefka's chest and returned to her friends, smiling at them. Everyone returned the smile, including Cyan.
''I admit it. Celes, you truly are one of us.'' said Cyan, satisfied.
''Bold move, Celes. And you did the right thing.'' said Setzer. The effects of Silence on him were over.
''You were awesome, Celes.'' said Locke.
(''You Idiot- Undertale OST'')
Shocked by what had happened, Kefka looked at his hand and gasped when he saw it stained with blood. Of his blood. Not the blood of Celes, not of his enemies, his. ''B- Blood! Blood! BLOOD!'' he screeched. It was pure reality, even if it didn't seem like it to him. He went into hyperventilation and exploded in all his anger towards Celes in a shrill voice that almost split the eardrums of Strago, Relm and Gau. Relm seemed frightened, and Terra and Strago looked at her with a mixture of sadness for them, anger towards Kefka and fear for the situation. ''You're a whore, Celes! I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate, HATE YOU!(1) You know, you and the witch are really stupid, arrogant, whining, spoiled, double-crossing, vile, SHITTY BITCHES!'' And he did not stop there, continuing to shout sexual insults towards Celes and Terra, or others towards their mothers, saying that they smoked purple reeds, that they were whores, and he did the same towards Relm. Hearing the insults towards her mother, Terra felt a strong anger, shared by her father, as Maduin's Magicite moved frantically and suddenly became white hot.
To hear Kefka in his nervous breakdown, now everyone was scared, even Sabin. ''Uh, guys? Have you noticed that Kefka has gone COMPLETELY INSANE?!'' the martial artist yelled
Edgar nodded. ''It's official. Now Kefka is completely crazy.'' he said.
Kefka approached the statues. ''And as for you, deities born only to fight, show your powers!'' he ordered. The Warring Triad released a magical lightning bolt that struck him. The recoil made him bump into Celes.
''It's as if the statues were sentient!'' exclaimed Relm, amazed.
''Let me pass and give me your power!'' cried Kefka. He had not yet lost the anger he had before. The three statues shone, but apart from that nothing happened. ''Enough playing around! Listen to me or you will regret it! Give me your powers, NOW!''
Gestahl seemed to realize how much Kefka had crossed the line. ''Stop, Kefka! They will destroy the world on which we will reign if we bring them back to life!'' he objected.
''Shut up, you!'' Kefka snapped.
''Kefka! Have you gone crazy?!'' shouted Gestahl.
''Me? Gone crazy? What are you saying, Emperor Gestahl? It's time to show these midges the power of the Warring Triad!'' replied Kefka.
Hearing that phrase with an aftertaste of arrogance, Gestahl sighed. ''Kefka, Kefka, Kefka... and they say I'm the one who's power-hungry. I have no other choice. Nothing personal, but I'll have to use the power you've unleashed to put an end to all this.'' Kefka's terrible, infamous, annoying laugh, resembling a little girl squealing, was echoing all over again, echoing everywhere.
''Why are you laughing like a retard?! I'll throw you at Arkham Asylum!'' cried Locke.
''What are you laughing about?'' asked Gestahl frowning. ''I guess I'll have to make you sleep while you still laugh. FIRAGA!''
But the Firaga magic had no effect, and Kefka laughed like a madman once again. Gestahl tried to cast another spell, Flare, but again, it didn't work.
''What's going on? Why is my magic not working?'' asked Gestahl, shocked. ''MELTDOWN!''
Terra felt what appeared to be a boiling wind, but that third magic spell didn't work either. ''Celes, can't you do something to free us from the paralysis?'' asked Setzer.
''I'll try something.'' replied Celes, on the verge of casting magic. ''Esuna!'' A colored light surrounded the ten heroes who were still paralyzed, but had no effect. ''What? It should undo negative status alterations normally!'' she then exclaimed, shocked that it hadn't worked.
Gestahl was too shocked by what had happened. ''How is this possible? How do you do that, Kefka?'' he asked.
Kefka responded by sticking out his leg and tripping him. ''Why, you tell me? Because I'm at the center of the Warring Triad! They absorb towards them all the direct spells with a force field. Isn't that obvious?'' he said.
''Why, of course!'' exclaimed Strago. ''The three gods who made up the Triad looked at each other when they petrified each other, and this causes them to cancel out each other's power!''
''Warring Triad! Show me a sign and show this useless old man your power!'' commanded Kefka.
''No, Kefka! No more nonsense! You don't know what you're doing! True terror will come upon the entire world!'' cried Gestahl, who got up.
Kefka again gave the order to the Triad. From the area between the three statues appeared a magical lightning bolt, but it missed the old emperor. Another one appeared, hitting an area too far away to damage him. ''It's not possible! Can't you do better?! You have a crappy aim!'' A third magical lightning struck the area. It was closer to Gestahl, but not close enough. ''More to the right! Get him!''
Gestahl got up and found himself forced to run in a circle to avoid being hit, all while the Triad released its magic in an attempt to hit him. The Returners could only stand by and watch, thinking that this old man, under his position of power, was just a man. Manipulative, power-hungry and unscrupulous, but he was still a man, and since Kefka had betrayed him like this, they could see from his expression that he was frightened. ''This is gonna suck, kupo...'' murmured Mog.
''Run away or you'll be well done!'' Kefka said with laughter. Gestahl tried to escape by running to where the heroes were, but the road was blocked. He was trapped. The umpteenth magic lightning approached, and this time, it hit him. The result was an intense electrical discharge as to several hundred, if not thousands of volts, and Gestahl screamed in pain. His skeleton was visible every half second, and everyone stared in horror. After ten seconds, the old man fell to the ground, dead. His body was steaming like barbecue meat, his clothes were schorched and his face was stuck in that expression of fear.
''Yes! GOT HIM!'' Kefka screamed, laughing more madly than ever. He kicked Gestahl's body, but got tired soon after a couple of times and stared at him in the face. ''Oh, poor old man...'' he said sarcastically. ''Oh well, I don't give a shit about him, he was a useless emperor anyway!''
''Oh, go fuck yourself, Kefka! You are an unbalanced, psychopathic asshole!'' yelled Locke.
''How is this possible? Wasn't Gestahl his superior?'' asked Terra, shaken.
''Obviously. Gestahl came from a military family, and when he was 13 years old, he became heir to the throne because his father was involved in a military coup, overthrowing the then emperor more than fifty years ago. I don't know if anything had happened to Kefka or his family, but it was Gestahl himself who took care of him, or so I remember.'' replied Celes.
(''You Idiot- Undertale OST-s'')
Kefka pushed Gestahl's corpse to the edge of the cliff and kicked him last in the face, causing him to fall. After several seconds of silence broken only by Kefka's laughter, a loud ''splash'' was heard. Terra was too shocked to comment, and so was Celes.
''Can I say I'm almost sorry for Gestahl?'' asked Sabin.
''At least he never goes as far as this complete maniac.'' Locke said in response.
''I feel like hanging him by the thumbs for how much of a bastard he is!'' added Cyan.
Kefka began to absorb power from the Warring Triad again. ''Stop, Kefka!'' shouted Celes. The mad clown man gave her the finger and commanded the Triad to attack her. It fired a lightning bolt that struck her. It did not kill her, but the impact threw her away as Kefka began to push the statue of Zurvan the Demon downwards. Not wanting to give up right now, Celes clung to the ledge. ''Kefka, don't do it! If you move the statues, you will upset the balance of the world and everything will become unstable!''
Once again, Kefka sent her to screw herself and moved down the statue of Sephirot the Fiend, even lower than Zurvan's. The Floating Continent began to tremble, as if in agony.
''No! He's breaking the balance of the world!'' cried Terra.
''Shit!'' cursed Locke. ''Is there any Esper that can help us?''
''We are paralyzed! We can't do anything here!'' replied Sabin.
''Not now!'' cried Gau.
''That's not what I wanted!'' exclaimed Setzer, frightened, as Kefka moved the statue of Sophia the Goddess to the right. The tremors worsened immediately.
Celes tried to climb up, but the ledge was slippery and he was quickly losing his grip. ''Celes! CELES!'' shouted Locke, knowing there was nothing he could do. No one could do anything by now, and Celes began to fall, no longer being able to cling on. It was over.
TO BE CONCLUDED...?
(''Record Scratch Sound Effect'')
''No, no, no! There will be no open endings here!'' cried Sabin, destroying the message.
''You're kidding, right? An open ending?'' commented Locke.
''Hold it there! I have unfinished business with you!'' a voice shouted. Even though Celes had her eyes closed, she could feel someone or something grab her, stopping her fall. A dog lunged at Kefka and bit him in the arm.
''Interceptor!'' exclaimed Relm.
A large shuriken, a Fuuma shuriken, flew towards Kefka, missing him by mere inches. ''Who goes there?! Who are you?!'' Kefka snapped. In front of the statues, pitch-black smoke appeared.
(''Blaze Appears- Sonic Rush Adventure OST'')
''I can't believe it...'' murmured Edgar, amazed.
The smoke dissolved, revealing a man in black, carrying Celes with one arm. He put her on the ground.
''Shadow! You're back!'' exclaimed Terra.
Shadow got paralyzed by the power of the Triad, but Kefka had underestimated him. He managed to free himself and trapped the crazy clown between the statues of Sephilos and Zurvan. As a result, magical sparks interacted with the other heroes, freeing them from paralysis.
''Free, finally!'' cried Sabin.
''Thank you, Shadow.'' said Edgar. ''Maybe I was wrong about you.''
''Are you all right?'' asked Celes.
''Yes, more or less. We're all fine.'' replied Locke.
Kefka began to flip out again like a two-year-old. ''YOU RUINED EVERYTHING, YOU DESPICABLE BEING!'' he yelled at Shadow.
''Look who's talking. I have witnessed the poisoning of Doma, how you exterminated half a kingdom. And then you say I'm the ruthless one. Well, too bad, because I'm a mercenary, and you didn't even pay me. After all I've done for the Empire, what do you do? You deceive us, you lie to us, you betray me, you hurt my dog and you leave me to die. Words are not enough to say how much you disgust me with your inhumanity. Because of the Empire you're a part of, I've left my past behind.'' said Shadow.
''FUCK YOU, SHADOW! YOU AND THAT BITCH THAT YOUR WIFE IS!'' cursed Kefka.
Immediately after, Shadow looked him straight in the eye with a menacing look, and moved so suddenly and rapidly that he took everyone by surprise, pointing a ninja katana at Kefka's throat. ''Hey! For your information, my wife already died a few years ago, you clown face. Give me a good reason why I shouldn't slit your throat and feed you to Interceptor. If you scream, I'll kill you, is it clear?'' he threatened. Although he did not speak loudly, his voice had an extremely serious and sinister tone. Kefka did not answer. ''Good. This is not the day for you to be wasting my time. Go back to masturbating yourself in front of the mirror instead of screaming like a madman.''
Suddenly, everything began to shake with greater force. Several ledges began to collapse, and the earth trembled as in an earthquake caused by Titan.
''What's going on?'' exclaimed Locke.
"Due to the Triad's change of position, the Floating Continent is becoming unstable! It will collapse in a few minutes, and it is too late to bring everything back to normal! You have to get out of here! Go!'' said Shadow.
''Not without you!'' said Celes.
''Don't think about me! Escape, save yourself! Don't worry about me, I'll come back to you! I promise it!'' Shadow shouted.
''You'll die if you stay behind, Shadow!'' cried Terra. She tried to get close to him, but was thrown away by a magical explosion from the Warring Triad.
''Terra, Celes, Sabin, Cyan, take the others and get out of here!'' said Shadow.
However, all the others, too hesitant, did not move, especially Terra, who breathed heavily. The idea of leaving him behind, of abandoning him to his fate, of leaving him to die, did not seem like a good idea.
''Go, NOW! Run! GET OUT OF THERE!'' Shadow yelled again.
With no other choice, everyone began to take the path they had gone through. The ground began to crack due to the force of the tremors. ''Let's jump over there, quick!'' said Sabin, and our heroes jumped to the other side.
''To the Blackjack!'' cried Setzer.
With a snap of his fingers, Kefka summoned a humanoid being similar to a clown. ''Nelapa, kill them.'' he ordered, and Nelapa teleported away.
(Objective: The Floating Continent is collapsing! Escape and go back to the Blackjack before it's too late!)
(''Escape- Metroid Prime 2: Echoes OST'')
Shaken by strong earthquakes, the Floating Continent began to crumble, break up and slowly collapse towards the ocean. Our heroes rushed to the Blackjack as fast as they could, running, jumping over ravines and never stopping. Because of his old age, however, Strago could not keep up, much to of Relm's irritation, as she had to cast Haste at him to speed him up.
"How is it possible that the psychopath always gets what he wants?! I wanted our victory, not all the bad luck!'' Locke snapped in frustration.
''I know. Kefka should have died when I pierced him, but he didn't. Normally, piercing someone like that would have to kill shortly if not instantly.'' said Celes.
''Pay up, Edgar. I told you that our plans against Kefka never worked.'' said Sabin.
''Uhm... we didn't bet anything.'' replied Edgar.
Suddenly, Nelapa appeared. He wasn't as crazy as Kefka, but he seemed to have wheels out of place. He chased them levitating in the air, laughing in the meantime.
''Ugh, what a drag!'' Mog cursed.
''Another harlequin... seriously?'' commented Cyan.
(Objective: Nelapa is ambushing you! Defeat him and get back to the Blackjack in 6 minutes!)
Celes castScan. "It's Nelapa, a follower of Kefka. Kefka instructed him to kill us to prevent us from escaping. He attacks with fire magic, and he's not as tough as he seems, he's more of a nuisance than anything else.'' he said.
''That Kefka cannot always interfere for his personal fulfillment! He's not even on the letterhead!'' said Setzer.
''Chaos... only chaos...'' said Gau, full of anxiety about what would happen shortly thereafter.
Nelapa snapped his fingers. A moment later, Death appeared, giggling, wrapped in a will'o the wisp, and became transparent.
''That's the blue magic spell Doom! If Death stops being transparent and we don't defeat that thing in time, he'll kill us all!'' exclaimed Strago.
Edgar took out the dual guns and opened fire. While shooting, however, he had to pay close attention to both where he was aiming and where he was running, so he had to constantly position his arms so that they did not obstruct his view. Nelapa approached with a fireball in his hands, but Mog stopped him in time unleashing the power of the earth to make a rock appear, hitting him, and Sabin struck the ground with his heel, causing a stone pillar to appear under Nelapa and throwing him in the air.
Relm tried to cast Thundara, but the magic lightning, instead of hitting Nelapa, bounced away from him. ''Magic doesn't work!'' she said.
"We have to find another way to hit him! Some physical attacks, perhaps.'' said Locke, throwing a boomerang and a few knives.
Using the tip of his spear to give himself momentum, Edgar tried an attack from above, but during the descent, he was hit by a Firaga that he could not dodge. Mog tried the same tactic, with his own success, but when he tried to dance, he was hit by the same attack. Strago took an ice rod and struck Nelapa with it, while Relm struck him with a personal whip, then had time to put on a fake mustache, and both she and Strago took control of a saber-toothed minor tiger and turned her against Nelapa.(2)
Since using magic was useless, Celes attacked closely with his sword and used Magilama, hitting Nelapa with a slash boosted by Blizzaga, but Nelapa changed strategy, constantly firing Fira and Firaga, making it very difficult to dodge the shots. Meanwhile, Death was slowly becoming more visible, and Edgar reloaded his guns.
''He's trying to waste our time!'' said Strago.
Terra, after hitting with a slash, magically infused Cyan's katana withthe power of fire, allowing him to strike with a fiery slash, then teleported away with magic. ''Silence!'' She cast the spell, but it had no effect. ''No, it's not working. We have to do something that doesn't count as magic.'' she said.
While Gau concentrated his efforts with bites and other physical attacks, Sabin remained motionless, concentrating his chi to use a Blitz and creating a blue sphere in his hands. ''Sonic Wind!'' He fired the energy, and the sphere turned into a high-speed blue blade that struck Nelapa, but did not defeat him. Edgar switched to a gun firing fiery bullets, but he ran out of ammo and was forced to reload again.
''OK, this is getting ridiculous!'' commented Sabin.
Edgar took his spear again and sensed the energy of before. ''Lancet!'' He jumped forward and struck Nelapa with his spear, which had released a dragon aura(3), and both he and his brother were shocked. ''I should check a few things when this is all over.''
Terra transformed into her Esper form and summoned Maduin to her aid. Together, they cornered Nelapa with a mixture of physical and magical attacks. Maduin charged dark purple magical energy to use Chaos Wave, and when Terra prepared a magical attack, she was surprised to discover that she had learned to use her father's signature technique.(4) They exchanged a nod. ''Chaos Wave!''
The combined attack struck Nelapa full force and defeated him. As a result, Death disappeared.
(''Escape- Metroid Prime 2: Echoes OST-s'')
''Oh, he's finally gone!'' said Locke.
(''Final Hours- The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask OST'')
''There's no time to lose! The Floating Continent is plummeting, remember?'' said Celes.
''Right! Back to the Blackjack!'' said Setzer.
The escape for survival was very difficult with wrong roads and dead ends. Relm and Mog even stumbled, so Terra took them in her arms. It didn't help that the eleven heroes couldn't spot the Blackjack, and they had to throw Float on themselves to move faster and find it more easily.
''Come on, where is that damn airship?'' muttered Locke, as the earthquakes grew stronger.
''We won't be able to survive for much longer! Let's get out of here!'' said Relm.
Floating in the air, the ten heroes flew until they found the Blackjack and touched the ground again. Setzer boarded the airship to turn off the autopilot, but the others were insecure and boarded slowly. Terra, Sabin and Cyan, however, too worried about Shadow, did not move.
''Do you want to go up or not?! Our life at stake here, everything's blowing up!'' Setzer snapped.
''We have to wait for Shadow! If we leave him behind, he will die!(5)'' replied Terra.
''We can't leave him behind.'' Sabin added. ''What do you say, Cyan?'' he then asked Cyan.
''You're right, the two of you. We owe him for before.'' replied Cyan.
Several seconds that seemed like hours passed, as the Floating Continent continued to break apart and fall, and Setzer had to move the airship to a lower altitude. Finally, after two minutes, Shadow caught up with them.
''Shadow! I knew you would be back!'' exclaimed Sabin.
"I will not die here, not before I have received my pay. I told you that.'' Shadow replied, and the others could finally leave the Floating Continent.
''For a second I thought we wouldn't get out alive.'' said Terra, relieved.
''We are the Returners, aren't we? And then I never doubted it.'' replied Strago.
''Yeah, yeah.'' said Relm in response.
''Is there a way to stop the magic of the Triad?'' asked Locke.
''I'm afraid not. As I said, it's too late to stop what will happen in moments.'' replied Shadow.
(''Final Hours- The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask OST'')
(''Andross- Star Fox OST'')
''Look!'' shouted Celes suddenly, alarmed.
Caught off guard, everyone watched what was going on beneath them. A mountain began to collapse on itself, and a child in the area fell downstairs. The ocean began to shake wildly. The three continents began to open and split.
''What's going on down there?!'' exclaimed Setzer.
''It's the Cataclysm! The imbalance of the Warring Triad is distorting the world!'' replied Terra, breathless.
''No... we failed then...'' Cyan murmured. ''I failed again...''
Everyone could only look into their faces with sheer horror as the world changed. The continents split and separated, forming islands scattered here and there. The sky darkened and then began to change drastically and turned red, while a strong wind began to blow menacingly. The ocean shook heavily under the tectonic plates, which seemed like they had gone crazy, and the water began to turn dark, almost like sludge. The movement of the plates was changing everything, and fast. Normally, every year the change would have to be almost imperceptible, and it would only become noticeable after millions of years, but now everything seemed out of control. Terra trembled heavily, but equally horrified was Cyan. The samurai fell to his knees, mumbling something quietly and having hallucinations, and he almost fainted. Sabin caught him just in time before he fell on the floor of the Blackjack, and Gau looked at them worried.
Suddenly, the wind became extremely intense, and a thunderbolt broke the Blackjack in two. ''Critical damage! We are going to crash! Brace yourselves!'' said Setzer, trying to regain control.
Relm tried to cling to a grate below, but was swept away with a scream of terror. ''RELM!'' screamed Strago, equally frightened, while Terra, too shocked, could not move. Soon after, the elderly wizard also fell from the Blackjack, and Shadow was next.
Gau almost fell, but Cyan grabbed him with one arm and clung with his other hand alongside Edgar. ''Don't worry, I'll pull you up!'' said Sabin. With one hand he held his brother's, and with the other, he held the combined weight of Cyan and Gau, but in the end, all three were wiped out.
Locke tried to hold Celes to himself to prevent them from doing the same thing, but it didn't work, and they ended up in opposite directions, to Locke's horror. The strong wind also caused Mog, no longer able to stay on Earth's shoulder, to try to cling to his cloak, without success. Only Terra and Setzer remained, clinging to the railing split in half, but in a short time they lost their grip too. In the world echoed the screams of the twelve heroes from the Resistance, mixed with the roars unleashed by the fury of the earth, by the explosions caused by chaos, the screams of all those who were witnessing everything and who were dying.
(''Andross- Star Fox OST-s'')
The scene shifted to Mog in the cave at Narshe. "We went through many obstacles, including the legendary weapon of destruction Ultima Weapon, and we also received the blessing of the crystals, but alas, our efforts were in vain. By changing the positioning of the Warring Triad and absorbing their power, Kefka completely destroyed the world. The Apocalypse raged on the world, the Blackjack was destroyed and I, Terra and the others were separated. On that day, the world was changed forever...'' he recounted. He turned his gaze to you who are listening, the reader, and after a few seconds, he understood why. ''What, kupo? Did you actually thought it would end here, with a cliffhanger, with a dark ending or an open ending? Don't even think about it, there are no open endings, unless they lead to a sequel. This was only the beginning of our mission. Soon the best part will begin. Stay with me and keep listening.''
TO BE CONTINUED...
A/N: Oh, no, mission failed! That Kefka is a villain that everyone loves to hate, huh? I guess he loves to be hated too. Well, with this we ended the first half of the story, the World of Balance, and in the next chapter, the World of Ruin will begin. What happened to our heroes after the Cataclysm? How has the world changed? Find out soon! See you soon!
(1): In the translation used for the original SNES version, this was one of Kefka's characteristic quotes, later changed into a series of insults, although without vulgar language.
(2): In Final Fantasy V, Beastmasters can control a monster, which allows them to give them orders to make them use their techniques. Relm can do this through the Fake Mustache, a relic that only she can use. This can also be used to help Strago learn Blue magic spells.
(3): In some chapters of the series, such as Final Fantasy IX and Final Fantasy Tactics, Dragoons can use techniques that have to do with draconic powers such as Lancet.
(4): Chaos Wave is Maduin's signature attack, which inflicts non-elemental damage on enemies. In Dissidia Final Fantasy NT, Terra has this attack as one of her four HP attacks, damaging the enemies around her, allowing her to use her father's signature move.
(5): If during the escape from the Floating Continent you return to the Blackjack but decide to wait for Shadow, he will join you when there are five seconds left at the end of the timer and will be recruitable later, otherwise he will die and will no longer be available for the rest of the game. As a result, Interceptor will protect Relm.