THE unofficial adaptation of the FF6 video game!=) Setzer & Celes, now joined together, travel to a secret place. Maybe there they'll find a way to traverse the broken continents…?
Forever & Always
Author: Furysetzer
Disclaimer: Steps to disclaim a copyrighted story: 1) "I don't own the Final Fantasy characters." 2) "I am making no money off this. It's just for fun." 3) Make stupid joke.
Note: I don't like how fanfiction.net loads their pages, especially stories with many chapters. So what I'm going to do is post the newest chapters FIRST in the list, that way, all's you need is 1 click & then you're there! I hope you enjoy my story.
Ch. 10—"Darryl's Epitaph: Falcon In The Sky"
Setzer & Celes were climbing a hill about a mile from town. It was a brisk hike, lasting well into the evening. They'd taken it easy for a couple days. Now, they were almost to the top of the incline. Toting the supplies, Celes huffs along. Setzer vigorously led the way. Celes gave up trying to talk to him. Setzer's mind was elsewhere.
At last they reach the top, stopping there.
Setzer points. "You zee it?" he asks excitedly.
Celes looks, & in the distance, barely notices it. It was a small, stone built structure, 1 story tall, built into a small hill. The whole thing was situated near the coast, on a quarter mile peninsula. "Looks like… a tomb," she says.
He explains, "I didn't want to zay anything to you, because I didn't know if it was ztill going to be here. But here it is. Heh! It'z amazing!"
She could tell Setzer was ecstatic. However, she didn't exactly share his elation. How could a place of death bring this reaction? She shakes her head. "I don't know what you mean."
He spreads his arms wide. "Thiz is Darryl's Tomb."
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Setzer & Celes approached the building quickly. Setzer explained that the tomb was actually an underground hangar. Furthermore, he had stored a prototype airship here, long ago. Celes listened to this with rapt attention. After a moment, her head was starting to spin with thoughts like Setzer must have been having.
They came to a stop in front of it. A heavy, stonework door blocked the entrance. Starting to open it, Setzer grunts, "Help me open it, Celez!"
For a moment, they pull with all their might. It slowly creaks open. Cobwebs pull apart, dust flying up & out. Waving the air with their hands, it clears, & they see stairs leading down.
Setzer stops her from going down. "Be careful," he warns. "It'z been about 10 years zince I was down there last. Anything could have crept up."
Celes nods, & together, they go down.
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"Celez!" screams Setzer, running for cover. "Try your Runic ability!"
Celes dodges the powerful spells & frantically says, "I can't! My sword got stuck in the pillar!"
"I'll distract it," he calls. Clutching the small green stone, Setzer concentrates upon the magical energy trapped inside it. Feeling the intoxicating radiation starting to pour out, he yells, "Fenrir: Moon Song!"
If possible, it seemed as if the darkened, torch lit room grew blacker still. Above Setzer, a bright, transparent image of a moon shimmers into existence. At the same time, a 6-foot, ferocious wolf appears in front of him. The Esper's eyes glowing balefully white, it lifts its heard upward. Fenrir lets loose an earsplitting howl, which is the last thing to disappear into non-existence.
Suddenly there wasn't just 1 Setzer anymore. Dozens of other images of him appear, standing all about the room. The undead, spirit-monster is easily confused. It starts tossing elemental spells at each 1. Only 1 problem: the transparencies wisped away as the magic passed through them.
Setzer stood completely still, lest the monster spot him from the still ghosts. He says through clenched teeth, "I'd do whatever you're going to do in a hurry…"
Succeeding in pulling her sword from the stone, Celes exclaims, "Ha!" & gets down to it.
She channels her raw energy into her sword. The blade glows bright white, & Celes starts spinning around wildly. Celes held it out in front of her & quickly starts to move toward the monster at the same time while twirling in circles.
It senses the impending undeath, & targets her. The Fire, Ice, & Bolt spells bounce off her sword, flying & crashing about the room. Setzer runs for cover.
Celes goes straight for it, seemingly impervious to its defenses.
Setzer calls out, "Don't let it touch you! It'll turn you into a zombie!"
With a final slash of her sword, the blade connects! The white magic filters out, into the being. It screeches in terror.
As the spirit dissipitates into smoke, it does manage to grasp hold of her sword arm. Celes screams in pain as the poison enters her skin.
The spirit exorcises out of the solid matter, & the humanoid skeleton falls apart. Kneeling down next to the ancient wooden chariot, Celes clutches her arm.
Setzer runs over, stopping a meter from the monster's pedestal. He couldn't believe it. If she became a zombie &1 of the dead, he'd never be able to forgive—"Celez?"
Celes gets off her knees, & plops down on her bottom. "I could use some help," she snorts. "Oh man, it stings."
"How--?!" he asks, scrambling to apply the pumice.
Celes lifts up her sleeve, revealing the red ribbon tied around her bicep. "Locke gave it to me. He said it would protect me. It did. Twice. This time, & while in Tzen. The doctor said he'd never seen anything like it. The poison had no effect…"
Just about finished, Setzer asks, "How'd you…"
"Defeat Dullahan?" she asks. He nods. "Said so yourself, it was an undead spirit. I just gave it life, with a white spell."
Setzer raises his eyebrows, clearly impressed. He then apologizes, "I'm really zorry about my zecurity measure. I bound it into zervitude & forgot all about it." he gets up. "You'll be fine now."
As Setzer turns away, Celes stands up, dusting herself off. She asks, "It must've been really important to you to do that. Especially to protect an inanimate object. What was so special about the airship?"
He rests his forearm against the wall, resting his head against it. He lies, "Nothing, really…"
Hands on her hips, she says, "Don't give me that. The Darryl you called out in your sleep is the same name you gave these catacombs… What's up?"
Going down a set of stairs, he sighs, "He wasn't a he, he was a she, & she was my best friend."
Celes follows him. "You mean, girlfriend?"
Setzer shakes his head in remembrance. "No, nothing like that. Though zhe did come cloze, once or twice…"
*
*
*
"Setzer, you blockhead!" calls Darryl. "Don't turn your back on me. It's time you fessed up. Where did you get this necklace I found in your room?" I turn to her & give the cheesiest smile possible. "I won it in a poker game. Nothing special, really." "Nothin' special, huh! Just look at it. It's incrusted in valuable diamonds." Still grinning, I say, "Haven't noticed. Why don't you keep it? It'll look better on you than me." She cocks an eyebrow, & says, "You sure are sweet, for being so notorious." I lean in close, using that infuriating grin. "Race you to the airships."*
*
*
"Zhe was zuch a zpitfire, full of brazz," Setzer recalls as they descend deeper. "Nothing zcared her. We were pals for life."
*
*
*
The 2 airships soar through the air. Slower, then faster, dipping through the clouds, so low as to almost touch the ground, then skyrocketing upwards. Shooting back through the mist, they looked like a pair of doves, flying side by side. "What's wrong?" she calls from behind the wheel. "Your engines aren't going to stall & make you go crash, are they?!" I taunt back, "Don't be zo cocky! You remember what happened—you got whipped but good!" "That was only because you cut in front of me!" she yells above the roar. "But not this time! I'm going higher than I ever been before! I'm gonna go so close as to touch the *STARS*!" "Have fun conquering the univerze! Juzt be back before dark! I'll be waiting on our hill!" The last thing I hear from her as she pulls away is, "See ya, space cadet! WAHOOOO!!"
*
*
*
Setzer stops & turns, looking up at her from the steps. "Before we go in, you have to know something." Celes waits until he says, "I waited for her az usual, but zhe never came. I searched for her a long time. Yearz later, I found the wreck of her airzhip. Zhe was nowhere to be found. It was like zhe dizappeared off the face of the planet…"
He turns from her & opens the door on the landing. He steps through, & holds it open for her. She walks into a huge cavern that echoes her steps upon the flat concrete. Setzer steps farther into the blackness, the torchlight glowing 3 feet ahead. Celes follows while he explains.
"I restored the craft, & had it put down here. I couldn't bear to look at it…" he stops, holds the torch up high. It shines upon the bough of a huge boat. "Thiz," he says in a trembling voice, "is the Falcon."
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They boarded the airship, & checked over every inch of the dirigible. Setzer oiled the engines, & ran tests on them. They also had to repair the balloon. It was grueling work that took them many hours.
It was smaller than Setzer's airship, nearly ½ the size. Also, it had only 1 passenger compartment, compared to several levels & a casino on the Blackjack.
Setzer warned her. This was the first experimental zeppelin. It might not be as stable. Also, this was the last of its kind, as far as he knew. The technology died along with Darryl. This was all they had, 1 last chance…
"If this works," Celes says with sparkling eyes, "we can find everybody in no time, then—"
"We'll be able to enter Kefka's Tower from the zky," finishes Setzer, emerging above deck from the stairs. "Are you… ready?"
Celes replies, "As I'll ever be." She then joins him in the airtight wheelhouse.
From a control, Setzer pulls the lever down. This activates the modified, waterproof engines. The ship held up by supports, the rear propellers spin effortlessly. Setzer pulls out a remote control, a relic from when science was vibrant & alive. "I hope that dynamite you got workz," he says, pushing the red button.
The exploding powder blows open the bay doors. This causes a deafening boom. From floor to ceiling, sea water floods in. It fills up the chamber, causing the ship to be trapped underwater.
After the current subsides, the propellers take effect. They jettison the craft out from under the sea wall.
The airtight ship shoots toward the waterline. On the surface, calmness, then a sudden blasting of the water. It rises up like a swimming shark, splitting the water high into the air. The twin motors propel the ship forward with increasing speed. Those on the beach near Kohlingen could only stare in shock.
Upon a 3-meter's high platform above the length of the deck, the top half is blown off. From a generator within, helium gas is released. It spews through the hollow tubes into the balloon. It rapidly fills up from the gas.
With Celes' help with her magic, he throws hooks attached by cable to the railing. They grab onto the latches all around the balloon.
In the distance, the ship appeared normal 1 moment, & the next, it sprouted an appendage & rose up. Off from the water it went, up higher, defying gravity. People were amazed. Once again, unwhispered in over a year, the name airship sent an unprecedented awe through them.
In the sky, Celes looks to Setzer, & he to she. They look down to the planet below. Finally, it seemed like things were starting to get back to normal.