Chapter 20
Written By Illuminet
Disclaimer: Most (if not all) of the characters appearing within this story do not belong to me, but rather, are creations of the brilliant minded people at Square Soft / Square Enix. I make no claim of owning them.
"..."-Indicate Speech
'...'-Indicate Thought / Telepathy
------
Zeltenia (?)
"I should have realized it was you who was also behind Delita's actions, Altima."
Ramza stated. Truth be told he didn't like the look he was getting from Altima. It was one he was rather surprised to see from someone he had killed. To Ramza, the normal look would have been one of hatred and loathing towards the very one who killed them yet he did not read any of this on Altima's face. It seemed more of a look of a woman in love.
'What is going on here? Am I missing something here? Is this some kind of trick to let down my guard?'
Ramza kept racking through his thoughts to come up with a logical explanation for Altima's disturbing look of affection. Yet none came. It would have been logical if she hated him since it was his ancestors who totally destroyed her body originally.
"What's bringing this on, Altima? Why do you keep looking at me like that?"
Ramza asked. He needed an explanation here, and if he couldn't think up one from his own mind, it was better to ask the source directly.
"Why? Is it a crime for a woman to admire the man she loves?"
Altima asked innocently. Ramza could feel all the eyes on his back.
"Now just a darn minute. Marche...or Ramza, whoever you are, who the heck is this lady, anyway?"
That was Ritz. Ramza tried his best to look back at her, but considering he was bound in place, he could only give her a side glance.
"An old enemy of mine. I defeated her in the original Ivalice to save my sister. Altima...I can't sense any indication that your lying to me. So I won't continue with it. Just tell me why it is that...you love me."
Ramza cringed at that last part. It was hard to see a demon of Lucavi being able to love him, or anyone for that matter. That was the last thing he'd ever expect in all his life of living. The demons of Lucavi that Ramza met with and fought all had some kind of hatred towards humans within them. Altima had been no exception from the rest. Yet, here and now, things were twisted out of perspective from what they originally were in Altima's case.
"It's the first time I've ever felt this way towards a human. I believe it has something to do with the way I was summoned back into this world so long ago as opposed to how I was summoned back even a longer time ago. As you know, most of my underlings have been spawned forth from the dark desires that make up half a human's heart, such as Wiegraf and his summoning of Velius. Unlike so many of those men, who gave into their own darkness, your sister resisted the dark promises given to her through me and so in the end...rather than me being the one who influenced her thoughts and actions, it was she who influenced me with her unbeatable strength and resolve."
Altima explained. Ramza seemed unconvinced.
"If that's so Altima, why did you attack me the first time we fought? That seemed like a genuine battle to me."
Ramza said to her. Altima shook her head.
"You see, Ramza...Alma had within her the sealed spirit of Ajora locked away in her. It was he who was influencing my actions on the outside. It was also Ajora who you killed, not me."
Atima said.
"Even though I destroyed your physical body, I only destroyed Ajora?"
Ramza asked, genuinely surprised. Altima nodded.
"As with all the others who you've slain. Immortals can't die by mortal means however, when immortals such as us who are demons of Lucavi, the mortal host will die and we will simply be sealed back into the Zodiac Stones."
Altima stated. Ramza now understood things clearly. This was the weakness of the demons. Although they may be immortals, since they use mortal bodies to exist outside the Zodiac Stones, their bodies could be slain on account to the host whom they used but the demons themselves would not truly die.
"It makes sense to me. So now tell me, Altima, why did you control Delita? Was this out of your...love for me? Even if you really don't know anything about me?"
Ramza asked her. Altima nodded.
"Exactly. It's perfectly understandable, don't you think? This all simply because I want us to get to know each other better. The first time we fought, I wasn't in my right state of mind. Now here for our second meeting, I can talk with you freely. Of course loving you is basically an act of betrayal which won't be forgiven by Lucavi himself but still I decided to risk it. You see, when were sealed by the Zodiac stone, we demons can move freely about the spirit world just like all other spirits who no longer have a body to function physically in. It was here that Alma confided in me about the plan to resurrect you through a reincarnation of yourself. This is how I learned at what moment you would fully retain your true self. Since Delita was in possession of the Zodiac Stones, and was activating their powers but not the demons themselves, it was he who I was able to manipulate slightly, enough to halt his plan of going after the St. Ivalice prisoners himself directly after learning of his creation's betrayal to follow orders. It had to be this way, because if Delita knew he was truly being controlled, even if just a little bit, he had the power to expel that which controlled him from his body. That's exactly what he did when he fully realized it was I controlling him and not the other way around as I had led him to believe. Luckily for me, I'm the strongest, only second to Lucavi, and so I can exist for brief moments at a time within the mortal realm without a host unlike the others who must remain in their stones unless they too have a host to use."
Altima explained.
"I'm amazed...you'd go so far as to betray even Lucavi...regardless, do you even think someone like you can actually love a mortal?"
Ramza asked her.
"Although I've known you only briefly, I feel that it can work out if we give this love a chance. It's as you told Delita. There is no such thing as a true good or evil. Just because I'm revered as a demon does not mean I have no feelings of care or sympathy. Many people simply are to quick to judge others character without truly getting to know who that person is. Anyway, we can talk about this later. This barrier won't last much longer and neither will I soon after. Ramza, I'm going to merge with you, along with the rest of the stones, if only to grant you immortality. If I know my master, he will be here soon and only immortals can harm one another. With your accumulated powers from your ancestry plus your own power, you'll stand a good chance against him. Should you defeat him, the Gran Grimoire will be yours and you can do with the worlds as you wish."
Altima told him. Ramza looked at her eyes carefully. He wanted to know if this might be some kind of very elaborate trick to have Altima simply take possession of him. Ramza decided to disregard his doubts for two reasons: 1) Altima's feelings seemed very genuine, and 2) Even should Altima be lying, he could simply dispel her from his body like Delita did. Ramza finally nodded.
"I understand. Let's hurry."
With the agreement made, Ramza was released from his bindings and merged with Altima. He decided he'd use his more heighten perceptions to monitor and make sure nothing was a miss with Altima's spirit resting within him. If he felt anything was wrong he would remove her without a second thought.
"So this is the immortality that Delita spoke of. I don't feel to different..."
------
Zeltenia, Tower of Delita, 100th Floor
"Hey were back."
Doned announced as the familiar chamber of Delita's now came back in view.
"Cid, lend me your sword."
Ramza ordered, holding his hand out to recieve the weapon after rolling up the sleeve of his sweater. Cid obliged and handed his weapon to him. Ramza took it and slid his wrist against the blade, leaving a rather large cut on his fore arm. The wound closed immediately afterwards.
"Looks like it really works then."
Ramza stated. He then turned to the residence of Ivalice.
"All of you should get out of here. Things will only get too complicated if any of you remain. Cid, I'm going to need your sword for a while."
Ramza said to everyone. Cid nodded his understanding and allowed Ramza to keep the sword with him.
"But Mar...I mean Ramza, what if you need help, kupo?"
Montblanc asked worriedly. Ramza shook his head.
"You have faith in Marche right? Then have faith in me, too. It will be like fighting a Divine Beast. Now go, he'll be here soon."
Ramza told him. Ramza kept his back to the rest of the people as they made their way down the tower. He could feel one lingering person however.
"Take care of Marche's body. You and Altima."
Ritz said. Ramza nodded.
"Don't worry, I, or rather we, will return him to you soon enough. Farewell."
Was all Ramza said. Convinced, Ritz made her way down with the rest. Ramza looked at the throne that Delita had sent away when they were originally going to go into an all out battle. The Gran Grimoire rested on the seat. Ramza then turned to Delita's body which remained face down.
'Before he reshapes the world, I must bury you properly, old friend.'
Ramza made his way to the throne, taking the book before he rested himself on the throne, he brought the sword to lean on the side of the right arm rest. Ramza looked at the Gran Grimoire's cover briefly before placing it on the left arm rest. He eased himself more firmly in the throne, since he had not been able to sit in quite a while.
'Now we wait...'
------
Zeltenia, Outside of Tower of Delita
"Looks like it will rain soon."
Cid said as he peered up at the night sky which was rapidly filling up with black clouds.
"Who cares about the stupid rain, kupo? What about MY airship, kupo?"
Nono growled out. The sight of finding his great creation nearly totally destroyed got him depressed at first, and now he was venting out his anger that was on the verge of exploding.
"All we can do is believe he'll come back to us."
Mewt said from his kneeling position on the ground. Along with him were Cid, Llednar, Ritz, and Doned.
"I'm sure he will. His skills and experience will lead him to victory against Lucavi."
Cid said calmly.
"Once this is over, I'll be actually going to another world...I hope I can adjust to the changes..."
Llednar spoke up. Mewt nodded.
"Don't worry, I'll...no, we all will help you."
Mewt told him. Llednar nodded his head in reassurance.
"Yeah...I still have to get to walking in the real world...if I can achieve that, I know I can achieve anything...just like my brother and Ramza."
Doned stated confidently.
"He better come back alive, or there's going to be trouble. A lot of trouble."
Ritz stated. All things were stacked up for this last battle.
------
Zeltenia, Tower of Delita, 100th Floor
"Give up the traitor...I'll have her head for this..."
Ramza lifted his head as he heard that deep voice. It almost sounded strained. Ramza noticed the torches beginning to dim. He lifted himself from his seat, grasping Cid's sword in the inverted grasp he'd grown fond of, just as Marche had.
"Lucavi...?"
Ramza spoke lowly. He grabbed the book quickly and jumped high in the air as a massive blade sliced through the throne. Once Ramza landed safely, he put the book down and looked back at the throne. The room was to dark to make out the distinct form of the one who did it, but judging from the silhouette Ramza could make out, the person was very tall and gruetesguely disfigured. The body twitched a bit as it walked in Ramza's direction, smashing the rest of what remained of the throne as he broke through it.
"Heh...you must be a troublesome Beoulve brat...your appearance runs in the family...I can't believe she would fall for a weak mortal such as you..."
Said the figure. Ramza had no doubt that this was definitely Lucavi. Even with some light still emanating from the torches, the devil could not be made out, as if his form was absorbing all of the light. The same looked for his massive sword, which did not gleam like normal metal. It looked like a large curved bat like wing.
"Well, it has just happened, so you should believe it. But enough about that. If you want her, come and get her."
Ramza taunted, issuing his challenge. Lucavi chuckled.
"And indeed...I shall..."
With a quick motion that Ramza could barely pick up on, Lucavi lead with an upward slash of his blade which would have cut Ramza's head diagonally in half had Ramza nodded backed his head away. Ramza still cursed under his breath as he felt his forehead and part of his upper cheek was cut. He couldn't dwell on it to long as he saw Lucavi thrust out, Ramza swiftly crouched low to evade the blow as he rushed towards Lucavi's direction with haste. Ramza brought his sword forward with an upward slash, but to his surprise, he and the blade went right through the silhouetted form. Ramza spun in mid air, trying to catch Lucavi in the back but the second strike ended like the first one, with no contact. Lucavi wasted no time in impaling Ramza's chest with his freed arm. Ramza did not feel physical pain and knew what Lucavi was doing. He was pulling away Altima's spirit which resided within him. Ramza refused to give in and let the immortal take away the only chance Ramza had at damaging him, when he could find a way to. Through sheer force of will, Ramza roared, mentally forcing Lucavi's hand out of his chest. Lucavi stepped back, off balance and it was here Ramza saw that the shadowy figure went from translucent to solid black. Ramza quickly gathered a sphere of ice in his palm and thrust at it, letting Cid's weapon become encased in a thick sheet of ice that resembled a massive sharp icicle. The attack was aimed at Lucavi's chest, but the devil sidestepped, only getting clipped in the side, before he jumped away to widen the distance between him and Ramza. Ramza saw a red stain amongst all the black that surrounded Lucavi.
"...Oh, this is quite a scratch..."
Lucavi hissed. Ramza could see that the devil's blood had been frozen to his side. Lucavi put his hand to the injury, crushing his hand against it to let the hardened crimson blood shatter and fall to the floor. His form went translucent again. The injury did not regenerate, which made Ramza want to sigh in relief. Regardless, Ramza still didn't know what triggered Lucavi's form to solidify.
'All I did was force him out of me so he couldn't remove Altima...still his form didn't take long to go invisible again...this means if I were to do it again, the chances for me to throw in a combination attack wouldn't work.'
Ramza didn't have much time to think, as Lucavi slashed out again. Ramza side stepped out of the way as the attack came to him. Lucavi ended up striking one of the torches, dousing what remained of the small flame as it struck the ground. Lucavi chuckled.
"...all these years of inactivity...how could I become so careless...?"
Lucavi hissed out. He quickly began to cut any remaining torches down with unbelievable speed. Soon the entire room was left in darkness.
'Damn...this isn't good...can't rely on my eyes now that he's taken the only source of light.'
Ramza thought as he felt a faint wind pass by him briefly. Ramza jumped back but not quick enough to avoid getting the front of his sweater slashed diagonally in half and a long cut along his torso. His back hit the wall. Ramza felt another attack coming in the form of a downward slash. Ramza quickly rolled along the side of one of the cages to evade, but felt the attack change to follow his direction, cutting a near horizontal wound in Ramza's back. Ramza grunted as he fell on his knees, but quickly rebounded off the wall to avoid another slash. Now in the air, Ramza felt another slash come towards him. Knowing he couldn't simply evade it, Ramza brought his sword forth to defend against the attack. To his surprise, normally an attack that would have originally been blocked seemed to still cut a small wound on Ramza's left shoulder. Ramza fell to the ground, kneeling.
'What happened...its like the attack went through the sword to still strike me...and I anticipated everything perfectly...wait, Altima can help me, yet why doesn't she...?'
Ramza thought, now confused. He now heard Lucavi chuckle. It was no longer so low and hollow sounding however.
"You look like your in quite a predicament, Beoulve brat. Your not mistaken, though. All you can do is run. As long as I reign in complete darkness and during the night time I'm like a true ghost: not solid enough to be hit by you, but solid enough to strike you down. And since I put Altima asleep, she can't aid you with advice, only let you keep that immortality. Not that it will do you any good. Any wound you were able to inflict on me, like that one before are all healed here. Prepare for your greatest nightmare, boy."
Lucavi's words were strong in the dark, no longer a pathetic hiss. Everything now made more sense, however. When Lucavi grasped Altima's spirit from within Ramza's body, Ramza had been successful in preventing her from being taken, so he could have the immortality granted to him by her, but she could not verbally aid him as he would like. Ramza would have started to feel hopeless if that was in his nature, but he did not. Opportunity soon presented itself.
"A storm's coming Lucavi...it should suffice for now."
Ramza said to the devil. Ramza lifted himself up to heave Cid's sword upwards, before striking it firmly in the ground with a yell of determination. The walls began to crumble.
------
Zeltenia, Outside of Tower of Delita
"What the heck is happening up there?"
Victory asked. Everyone witnessed the entire top floor fall from the tower, piece by piece.
"Hope our leader isn't in trouble."
Rooty stated besides the Banga. The two nodded at each other.
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Zeltenia, Tower of Delita, Remains of the 100th Floor...
The rain fell on Ramza's back. The cool drops of water soothing the fresh cuts he sustained by Lucavi. His sweater already fell to his waist. He was satisfied for acting so quickly. Although it was night time, he could see the devil's figure very clearly. The thunder and lightning would be his true light for now.
"I haven't gotten this far only to lose now. I'll end everything here, Lucavi. Just watch me."
Ramza declared, his eyes set with determination. Lucavi only shook his head.
"You...you will not win. I have...faced all your ancestors and know how to defend against all their special techniques...all you have is a compilation of their...their powers...even your own techniques will be useless once I witness them...there is nothing you can do..."
Lucavi said to him. Ramza didn't know weather to believe this or not, but he had a feeling that Lucavi was being truthful. Nothing in the way he carried himself or spoke could hint that he was telling otherwise.
'I have to pin him down. If I can use my ultimate technique on him it will kill him, but he has to be able to be physically harmed before I can use it against him...what do I do?'
Ramza thought in his head. He took a defensive stance as Lucavi walked towards him. The walk turned into a sprint as Ramza was charged at head on. With a swift turning motion, Lucavi thrusted outward at Ramza's direction. Ramza backflipped out of harms way. He looked up from his kneeling position to look towards Lucavi, but found no one in his line of vision. Ramza's eyes widened as he lifted his head up a bit more. He could sense Lucavi behind him. Ramza quickly turned around but that had been a mistake. He soon found his neck held firmly in Lucavi's grasp, but not quite enough to choke him. Ramza could not even defend himself as his face was met with the pommel of Lucavi's blade as it impacted with his forehead, leaving Ramza stunned. Lucavi released Ramza and brought his sword back, now holding it with two hands. Ramza was sent hard into the ground as Lucavi once again made contact against Ramza's fore head with his pommel. Ramza lifted his head up slowly as Lucavi brought his hand down, almost ready to liberate Altima from within Ramza but stopped. Lucavi decided to enjoy what looked like it would be a victory for him. This meant to keep Ramza suffering in pain and failure.
"Pathetic..."
Lucavi muttered, as he grabbed Ramza's neck and lifted him in the air. Although the rest of Ramza made him look like he was beaten, his eyes carried a slight glimmer of hope. If Ramza could see his opponent's face, he would have seen the scowl that graced it. Lucavi was not one to kill someone until they lost all traces of hope from their beings. Lucavi shifted his weight and flung Ramza bodily against the floor. Ramza slid across the slick stone floor and came to a stop on his back. Ramza gazed out at the black sky as rain continued to fall on his face. Lightning illuminated the sky briefly. Lucavi now stood over him.
"Give up..."
Lucavi hissed, bring his foot up. Angered by Ramza's look, Lucavi proceeded to stomp him like a bug under his heel. Lucavi kept chanting his words to give up, as Ramza gritted his teeth as pain lanced from his chest to the rest of his limbs as Lucavi kept implanting his foot roughly into the man's chest. Ramza's eyes noticed something when the lightning briefly lit the sky again as he looked at Lucavi. Wasting no time, Ramza retaliated with a swing of his sword. Lucavi jumped back to avoid getting struck by the blade. Ramza got up quickly, pushing his aching limbs into action as he rushed towards Lucavi. Ramza timed his pace as lightning struck again. Ramza lashed out with a horizontal sweep of his blade, but it was blocked. Lucavi retaliated quickly as Ramza had hoped, and he brought up his sword to guard the devil's blade. The blades connected. Ramza smirked.
"That's why you don't like the light. If enough is produced, it will cause your body to be physically touchable. Your invisibility powers also seem to get affected when someone resists you taking a spirit from within someone. Such is the case when you tried to remove Altima the first time. You won't do it again, but now that light can also affect you in a similar way..."
Ramza didn't speak anymore as lightning once again flashed across the sky. He pushed Lucavi off balance as best as he could in his own weakened state and tried to retaliate, but Lucavi didn't allow it. Once again, but by sheer force, Lucavi smashed his hilt into Ramza's face, causing him to fall on his stomach. Ramza soon saw Cid's sword kicked out of his grasp. Ramza lifted himself up, but was soon slammed into the ground as Lucavi planted his foot on Ramza's back, pinning him to the ground. Lucavi peered at Ramza's face again. Lucavi then began to grind his heel into Ramza's back, along the wound he gave Ramza earlier to amplify the pain.
"Just...give...up..."
Lucavi hissed out. Ramza refused to allow himself to scream out his pain even though his lungs burned to release one through his throat. Ramza closed one eye in order to concentrate on alleviating the pain he felt. His opened eye caught the faint glimmer of the Cid's sword a good four feet away. Ramza opened both eyes in surprise at what he saw when lighting cut through the darkness. Beside the sword was the Gran Grimoire. Ramza lowered his head and closed his eyes.
'I...have...not...come...this...far...only...to...fail...I REFUSE TO FAIL!!!'
A smile graced Ramza's lips. He had a plan.
------
'Montblanc...'
Montblanc, who had dosed off for a bit, jolted upright from his sleeping position.
"Marche, kupo?"
He asked looking around.
'Ramza, actually. I need a favor. I want you and the rest of Clan Ruglia to summon the Divine Beasts. They lended us you their power, remember? Have the rest of the clan members summon them along with you and send the Divine Beasts up here. Order them to bind the demon of shadows.'
Montblanc heard Ramza say in his head. Montblanc complied and quickly scurried to his the rest of his clan members.
"Listen everyone, we've been given an order by Ramza to follow, kupo."
Montblanc said seriously. Everyone looked at him as if he had gone nuts.
"Are you sure your over protective nature isn't getting the best of you, Montblanc?"
Rooty asked. Montblanc glared at all of them.
"This is an order from your second in command, kupo! You will follow my orders in Marche or Ramza's absence, kupo!"
Montblanc said sternly. No one could argue with that.
"So then, what does he want us to do?"
Hedges inquired. Montblanc nodded.
"We all have the Divine Beasts powers granted to us from when Marche destroyed the Crystals, kupo. We need to summon them and send them up the tower to bind a demon of shadows Ramza is fighting, kupo. If Ramza is asking for help, it must be a very difficult battle to overcome, even with that Altima chick granting him immortality, kupo. Understand, kupo?"
Montblanc asked them. Everyone nodded. Everyone now faced in a circle and began to concentrate. Particles of light began to emanate from their bodies and fill the air. This of course got everyone's attention.
"Montblanc, What's going on here?"
Cid asked him but Montblanc did not respond. Soon the clan members of Clan Ruglia felt the hidden powers of the Divine Beasts within and extracted them from within into the physical world. Rooty summoned Corrupt Emperor Mateus, Victory summoned Spirit God of Wrath Adrammelech, Hedges summoned Fallen Angel Ultima, Celine summoned Spectral Tree of Judgment Exodus, and Montblanc summoned Dark Cloud Famfreet.
(Note: Hey, you didn't think I wasn't going to use them at least once during this story, did you?)
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Zeltenia, Tower of Delita, Remains of 100th Floor...
So far Ramza was getting kicked around like a rag doll, not that it really mattered to him anymore. The fact that he seemed so close to being on the verge of giving up hope just to rise again was starting to anger Lucavi more and more. Yet the devil could not kill him until he wiped all traces of his hope away, and in his anger, he became careless. He only focused on Ramza, not even sensing the summoning of Divine Beasts as they were making their way up the tower.
"I'm...growing tired...of this...so I'll just have...to finish you here...and now..."
Lucavi said. He brought his blade high over his head. He then slashed downward, prepared to kill Ramza right then but stopped mid swing.
"What is this power...?"
Lucavi muttered. He couldn't dwell on it long as he was then tackled and bound a little off the ground by chains of light courtesy of five Divine Beasts.
"What...are...these...?"
Lucavi struggled to free himself. Ignoring the ache he found in his sore body, Ramza got up and rushed for Cid's weapon. His muscles felt like they were on fire, but he refused to give in to the pain just yet.
'All I need is one good blow, and he'll be dead, I should know considering this attack will be the one thing he fears most. The Divine Beasts binding technique will make his form visible. There's no reason to hold back.'
"It's time to die, Lucavi. Being an immortal, I can kill you like any normal mortal now."
Were all the words Ramza spoke as he pushed himself to run forward, letting his entire left fist get engulfed by a sphere of holy magic. Once he was right in front of the devil, Ramza struck him with the sphere. Now the sphere was planted along Lucavi's chest, who was screaming out in pain. Ramza swiftly removed his hand from the sphere, bringing forth his sword wielding right arm to strike at the sphere. A tremendous explosion of white light ensued, to great for Lucavi to endure as his form began to dissolve into a true mist and then faded out by the burning white light that illuminated the sky. After the light faded, Ramza smile and closed his eyes, falling to the ground in exhaustion.
(Note: Think Sol Badguy's Tyrant Rave Version Beta from the Guilty Gear series.)
------
Unknown Place
"Ramza...Ramza..."
Ramza opened his eyes.
"Alma, your here. This place...am I dead again?"
Ramza asked as he got up. His body ached a little, but otherwise it felt a lot better.
"Nope, your alive. Anyway, now everything is your choice. The false Ivalice's sovereignty and your new found powers you regained when you became whole. That's all I wanted to tell you. Well, then there's Altima..."
Alma said, her speech trailing off. Ramza chuckled.
"I should have known you'd have a back up plan like that one. I'm glad actually. If I had to fight Delita fully, I would, but that doesn't mean that I want to."
Ramza said truthfully.
"What do you plan for this world, brother?"
Alma asked. Ramza lowered his head to think, but he didn't think long.
"If I'm the master of the Gran Grimoire, I will separate the two Ivalices. The one I came from will remain while I'll create another space to place this alternate Ivalice. After that, I'll bury Delita in our Ivalice. Even if all the things he did were less that honorable, no one has the right to blame a person for doing what they think is right. After that, I guess it will be time to release everyone who was used in making my eyes. I also want to have the rest of my spirit removed from this body. I'll give Altima the chance she deserves, and then Marche will truly be free of me except for our memories, which will be the only things intertwined and bound together with one another. This way I can wait for all my friends and family to return to normal. It is my time anyway."
He said.
------
And so...
Everything was done as Ramza said he'd do it. Now owner of the Gran Grimoire, he separated the original Ivalice from the dream one and made it it's own separate world. He buried Delita in the Church his wife had been buried at. Ramza hoped they could make amends in the afterlife. Ramza also brought the Buster Sword and Masamune to the world Cloud hailed from. He had no physical bodies to bury, but he hoped it would suffice to have their swords brought back to where their originated from. After all this, Ramza transferred ownership of the Gran Grimoire to Marche and departed with his sister Alma and the Bloody Angel Altima. Marche and the rest returned to the town of St. Ivalice...
(Note: From here on out, things will be mentioned in terms of location and the character's name to follow his or her's scenario.)
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St. Ivalice, Marche's house, Marche, Doned, and their mom
"That's it, keep it steady."
Marche said.
"What made you decide all this, Doned?"
Ms. Radiuju asked. Doned looked at her.
"Big brother encouraged me. It will take a while, but I plan to be walking for the rest of my natural life. It will take a long time, but it's not impossible if I hold sight of what it is I want to do."
Doned said to her. Both Marche and Ms. Radiuju were on either side of Doned, helping him to use his new leg crutches. Doned was sweating like crazy from the exhausting effort of trying to walk, but his eyes gleamed with determination not to give up.
------
St. Ivalice, Work Place, Cid
"Wow, you actually look sober. Taking a new medication?"
A female co worker asked Cid. Cid nodded.
"Yep. I call it -Stop drinking from now on so you can take care of your sons-. It's great for stopping annoying hang overs."
Cid said, jokingly . The woman looked at him astonished.
"Wait, you have more than one son? Who's the lucky girl to give you a child?"
She asked him. Cid shook his head.
"He's another child of my wife and I. DNA tests prove it. I don't know how it came to be or how I didn't know about it. Mewt simply insisted it was so. He was right too. It's time I cleaned up my act, for both of them."
Cid said firmly. The woman nodded, impressed.
"I'm glad. Good thing you decided to do it while their still young too. What's your other son's name?"
She asked.
"Llednar. Llednar Randell."
Once he said the name, the woman laughed. Cid looked at her strangely.
"What's so funny?"
He inquired. The woman shook her head.
"Isn't his first name just your family name spelled backwards?"
She asked him. Cid put a hand to his chin in thought.
"Hey, you know something, your right. What an odd coincidence."
Cid agreed.
------
St. Ivalice, Outside of the School yard, Mewt and Llednar
"Well, well, well...look who showed up...with a freaky look alike?"
Lyle said as he saw Llednar.
"Hey, Mewt, who's your new friend?"
Collin asked.
"He's my brother actually. Got a problem with that?"
Mewt inquired. Everyone stared at him oddly. The day Mewt stood tall and didn't cower behind Ritz was one they thought would never come. Of course Ritz had yet to make an appearance if at all. The school wasn't even open officially considering it was Saturday. Kids were just here to enjoy snow ball fights.
"Well, would you look at that? Mewt's standing up for himself."
Corin stated.
"Hey, rather than we kick your sorry butts to kingdom come, why not settle this over a snow ball fight? We'll even give you a ten point handicap and it will be four on two."
Llednar inquired. The older boys looked at each other.
"Are you serious? Fine, but don't go running to daddy if you get hurt."
Lyle said, agreeing to the terms. That had been a mistake. Mewt and Llednar brought a whole new meaning to the game. Lyle and his gang didn't even know what hit them and were on the ground exhausted. All hits to them were head shots. Not something that happened very often. The two brothers were treated with greater respect after that.
------
St. Ivalice, Ritz's house, Ritz and her mom, follows with Marche soon after
"So, your going to school, dear?"
Ms. Malheur asked her daughter, her voice sounding lighter than it usually did. Ritz nodded.
"Yes, mom. I don't know when I'll be back but I'll give you a call."
Ritz said. She had been standing at the door for a while, steeling her nerves. This would be the first time in a while she'd be out with her hair it's natural color.
"Ritz?"
A familiar voice asked. Ritz almost jumped ten feet in the air with surprise. Marche had called out to her. She turned around to face him. He was on the sidewalk, dressed warmly like he usually was. It was understandable considering it snowed regularly in St. Ivalice.
"Oh, and who might you be?"
Ms. Malheur asked him, from behind Ritz. Ritz almost went airborne again in surprise.
"Oh, you must be Ritz's mother. I'm Marche Radiuju, one of her class mates. It's nice to meet you."
He said politely with a wave of his hand. He turned to Ritz again.
"Are you heading towards the school, Ritz? I'll escort you if you want."
Marche offered. Ritz shook her head.
"Go on ahead, Marche. I'll catch up with you soon. I need to get my...scarf, yeah. Don't worry, I'll see you soon."
Ritz said, closing the door behind her.
"You already have your scarf on, dear."
Her mom told her. Ritz put a hand to it.
"Hey, what do you know, I do. Okay see you later, mom."
She said hastily, trying to fend off a creeping blush. Her mother didn't give her the time of course.
"Of course you wouldn't want your boyfriend to wait on you forever."
Her mom said. Ritz looked at her.
"Hey now, he's not my boyfriend, just a...a friend who happens to be a boy."
'Real smooth Ritz...you'll never hear the end of this now...'
Ritz thought.
"Are you sure? He's still waiting out there, despite you telling him to go on ahead."
Ms. Malheur said, looking out the window that was on the right side of the door. Ritz also took a peek after hearing that. True to her mother's words, Marche was leaning against the fence, waiting. Ms. Malheur opened the door, dragging a surprised Ritz out.
"Well, it's best not to keep him waiting out there to freeze to death. Get on out of here and go GET him."
The emphasis on the word get was not lost on Ritz. Her mother also gave emphasis on her words by giving Ritz a playful slap on the rear, which in turned caused Ritz to yelp slightly as the door was closed behind her. Of course the sound got Marche's attention as well.
"Oh there you are. You okay?"
He inquired. Ritz nodded, trying to stop the annoying blush she knew was gracing her cheeks.
"Yeah. I realized I had my scarf on the entire time. Don't you hate it when you don't realize you've already put something on and you then think you lost it somewhere?"
Ritz asked. Of course she was lying as she already knew she had the scarf on, but didn't want her mom to pester her about her relationship with Marche. A whole lot of good it did anyway.
"Since Mewt and Llednar live closer to the school, I'd wager their probably over at the school already."
Marche said as the two began to walk. Ritz nodded.
"Yeah, probably getting revenge against Lyle and the others."
Ritz said. Marche laughed.
"Yeah, probably. Anyway, on to other subjects. You look beautiful, Ritz."
Marche said. It came out quite suddenly and caught Ritz off guard.
"W...what?"
'Stuttering...real smooth again Ritz...'
Ritz chastised herself.
"I always though you looked beautiful with your red hair. But seeing you as you are now, I don't only think your beautiful, I'm glad that you look happier as well than I've ever seen you before."
Marche said truthfully. Ritz, the master of come backs and witty remarks was left speechless for a moment, realizing the two of them had stopped walking.
"No one's ever told me that before, Marche. Thank you."
Ritz said after a little bit, offering a warm smile. Marche held out his arm.
"Well we should get going if we want to get into a snow ball fight."
Marche said. Ritz looked at his arm. Marche smirked.
"What's wrong? Is the Great Ritz to high and mighty to allow herself to intertwine her arm around this lowly Marche?"
Marche asked jokingly. Ritz could see a bit of hope in his eyes that she would accept his offer.
"Is that your way of saying you want to be my boyfriend?"
Ritz teased. Marche smiled.
"What do you think?"
Of course there was no need for words, however. Ritz looped her arm around Marche's as the two walked off to the school, hand in hand.
'Good Luck.'
Marche stopped briefly when he heard the voice in his head. He looked up at the cloud filled sky.
"Marche?"
Ritz asked. Marche looked down and shook his head, smiling.
"Nothing Ritz, I thought I heard something, that's all. Hey how about in a couple of weeks we all go and spend some time in the Alternate Ivalice?"
Marche asked. Ritz nodded.
"Sure, why not? We can meet all our friends again!"
Ritz said excitedly. As the owner of the Gran Grimoire, Marche had the power to send all of them back to the world where their first adventure started. So in the end, perhaps everything worked out for the better. As Marche and Ritz walked to school, Marche kept thinking about one of the large clouds he saw in the sky. It was almost as if it was shaped into all of Ramza and his friends. The thought brought a smile to Marche's face.
'We will meet again someday, Ramza. All of us. Someday, but not yet.'
END
Note: Well, there you have it. I didn't want to use the FFTA original ending because everyone probably would have just gotten sick of having to see the same old thing. Hopefully this ending was to your liking. Remember that friend who unintentionally inspired me to type up the Cloud and Sephiroth fight? She was nice enough to type up this chapter from my written copy. That's the reason I was able to get this up so fast. Anyway, as for the slight Ramza / Alitma pairing, it was inspired by a piece of fan art I saw on a site. Yes, I know that was a surprise and probably would never really happen, but that's why this is a fanfiction. Anyway, thanks to all who reviewed this story and had fun reading it. If you like this piece of fiction of mine, I also hope you like other works of mine, too. So until then, See ya.
Written By Illuminet
Disclaimer: Most (if not all) of the characters appearing within this story do not belong to me, but rather, are creations of the brilliant minded people at Square Soft / Square Enix. I make no claim of owning them.
"..."-Indicate Speech
'...'-Indicate Thought / Telepathy
------
Zeltenia (?)
"I should have realized it was you who was also behind Delita's actions, Altima."
Ramza stated. Truth be told he didn't like the look he was getting from Altima. It was one he was rather surprised to see from someone he had killed. To Ramza, the normal look would have been one of hatred and loathing towards the very one who killed them yet he did not read any of this on Altima's face. It seemed more of a look of a woman in love.
'What is going on here? Am I missing something here? Is this some kind of trick to let down my guard?'
Ramza kept racking through his thoughts to come up with a logical explanation for Altima's disturbing look of affection. Yet none came. It would have been logical if she hated him since it was his ancestors who totally destroyed her body originally.
"What's bringing this on, Altima? Why do you keep looking at me like that?"
Ramza asked. He needed an explanation here, and if he couldn't think up one from his own mind, it was better to ask the source directly.
"Why? Is it a crime for a woman to admire the man she loves?"
Altima asked innocently. Ramza could feel all the eyes on his back.
"Now just a darn minute. Marche...or Ramza, whoever you are, who the heck is this lady, anyway?"
That was Ritz. Ramza tried his best to look back at her, but considering he was bound in place, he could only give her a side glance.
"An old enemy of mine. I defeated her in the original Ivalice to save my sister. Altima...I can't sense any indication that your lying to me. So I won't continue with it. Just tell me why it is that...you love me."
Ramza cringed at that last part. It was hard to see a demon of Lucavi being able to love him, or anyone for that matter. That was the last thing he'd ever expect in all his life of living. The demons of Lucavi that Ramza met with and fought all had some kind of hatred towards humans within them. Altima had been no exception from the rest. Yet, here and now, things were twisted out of perspective from what they originally were in Altima's case.
"It's the first time I've ever felt this way towards a human. I believe it has something to do with the way I was summoned back into this world so long ago as opposed to how I was summoned back even a longer time ago. As you know, most of my underlings have been spawned forth from the dark desires that make up half a human's heart, such as Wiegraf and his summoning of Velius. Unlike so many of those men, who gave into their own darkness, your sister resisted the dark promises given to her through me and so in the end...rather than me being the one who influenced her thoughts and actions, it was she who influenced me with her unbeatable strength and resolve."
Altima explained. Ramza seemed unconvinced.
"If that's so Altima, why did you attack me the first time we fought? That seemed like a genuine battle to me."
Ramza said to her. Altima shook her head.
"You see, Ramza...Alma had within her the sealed spirit of Ajora locked away in her. It was he who was influencing my actions on the outside. It was also Ajora who you killed, not me."
Atima said.
"Even though I destroyed your physical body, I only destroyed Ajora?"
Ramza asked, genuinely surprised. Altima nodded.
"As with all the others who you've slain. Immortals can't die by mortal means however, when immortals such as us who are demons of Lucavi, the mortal host will die and we will simply be sealed back into the Zodiac Stones."
Altima stated. Ramza now understood things clearly. This was the weakness of the demons. Although they may be immortals, since they use mortal bodies to exist outside the Zodiac Stones, their bodies could be slain on account to the host whom they used but the demons themselves would not truly die.
"It makes sense to me. So now tell me, Altima, why did you control Delita? Was this out of your...love for me? Even if you really don't know anything about me?"
Ramza asked her. Altima nodded.
"Exactly. It's perfectly understandable, don't you think? This all simply because I want us to get to know each other better. The first time we fought, I wasn't in my right state of mind. Now here for our second meeting, I can talk with you freely. Of course loving you is basically an act of betrayal which won't be forgiven by Lucavi himself but still I decided to risk it. You see, when were sealed by the Zodiac stone, we demons can move freely about the spirit world just like all other spirits who no longer have a body to function physically in. It was here that Alma confided in me about the plan to resurrect you through a reincarnation of yourself. This is how I learned at what moment you would fully retain your true self. Since Delita was in possession of the Zodiac Stones, and was activating their powers but not the demons themselves, it was he who I was able to manipulate slightly, enough to halt his plan of going after the St. Ivalice prisoners himself directly after learning of his creation's betrayal to follow orders. It had to be this way, because if Delita knew he was truly being controlled, even if just a little bit, he had the power to expel that which controlled him from his body. That's exactly what he did when he fully realized it was I controlling him and not the other way around as I had led him to believe. Luckily for me, I'm the strongest, only second to Lucavi, and so I can exist for brief moments at a time within the mortal realm without a host unlike the others who must remain in their stones unless they too have a host to use."
Altima explained.
"I'm amazed...you'd go so far as to betray even Lucavi...regardless, do you even think someone like you can actually love a mortal?"
Ramza asked her.
"Although I've known you only briefly, I feel that it can work out if we give this love a chance. It's as you told Delita. There is no such thing as a true good or evil. Just because I'm revered as a demon does not mean I have no feelings of care or sympathy. Many people simply are to quick to judge others character without truly getting to know who that person is. Anyway, we can talk about this later. This barrier won't last much longer and neither will I soon after. Ramza, I'm going to merge with you, along with the rest of the stones, if only to grant you immortality. If I know my master, he will be here soon and only immortals can harm one another. With your accumulated powers from your ancestry plus your own power, you'll stand a good chance against him. Should you defeat him, the Gran Grimoire will be yours and you can do with the worlds as you wish."
Altima told him. Ramza looked at her eyes carefully. He wanted to know if this might be some kind of very elaborate trick to have Altima simply take possession of him. Ramza decided to disregard his doubts for two reasons: 1) Altima's feelings seemed very genuine, and 2) Even should Altima be lying, he could simply dispel her from his body like Delita did. Ramza finally nodded.
"I understand. Let's hurry."
With the agreement made, Ramza was released from his bindings and merged with Altima. He decided he'd use his more heighten perceptions to monitor and make sure nothing was a miss with Altima's spirit resting within him. If he felt anything was wrong he would remove her without a second thought.
"So this is the immortality that Delita spoke of. I don't feel to different..."
------
Zeltenia, Tower of Delita, 100th Floor
"Hey were back."
Doned announced as the familiar chamber of Delita's now came back in view.
"Cid, lend me your sword."
Ramza ordered, holding his hand out to recieve the weapon after rolling up the sleeve of his sweater. Cid obliged and handed his weapon to him. Ramza took it and slid his wrist against the blade, leaving a rather large cut on his fore arm. The wound closed immediately afterwards.
"Looks like it really works then."
Ramza stated. He then turned to the residence of Ivalice.
"All of you should get out of here. Things will only get too complicated if any of you remain. Cid, I'm going to need your sword for a while."
Ramza said to everyone. Cid nodded his understanding and allowed Ramza to keep the sword with him.
"But Mar...I mean Ramza, what if you need help, kupo?"
Montblanc asked worriedly. Ramza shook his head.
"You have faith in Marche right? Then have faith in me, too. It will be like fighting a Divine Beast. Now go, he'll be here soon."
Ramza told him. Ramza kept his back to the rest of the people as they made their way down the tower. He could feel one lingering person however.
"Take care of Marche's body. You and Altima."
Ritz said. Ramza nodded.
"Don't worry, I, or rather we, will return him to you soon enough. Farewell."
Was all Ramza said. Convinced, Ritz made her way down with the rest. Ramza looked at the throne that Delita had sent away when they were originally going to go into an all out battle. The Gran Grimoire rested on the seat. Ramza then turned to Delita's body which remained face down.
'Before he reshapes the world, I must bury you properly, old friend.'
Ramza made his way to the throne, taking the book before he rested himself on the throne, he brought the sword to lean on the side of the right arm rest. Ramza looked at the Gran Grimoire's cover briefly before placing it on the left arm rest. He eased himself more firmly in the throne, since he had not been able to sit in quite a while.
'Now we wait...'
------
Zeltenia, Outside of Tower of Delita
"Looks like it will rain soon."
Cid said as he peered up at the night sky which was rapidly filling up with black clouds.
"Who cares about the stupid rain, kupo? What about MY airship, kupo?"
Nono growled out. The sight of finding his great creation nearly totally destroyed got him depressed at first, and now he was venting out his anger that was on the verge of exploding.
"All we can do is believe he'll come back to us."
Mewt said from his kneeling position on the ground. Along with him were Cid, Llednar, Ritz, and Doned.
"I'm sure he will. His skills and experience will lead him to victory against Lucavi."
Cid said calmly.
"Once this is over, I'll be actually going to another world...I hope I can adjust to the changes..."
Llednar spoke up. Mewt nodded.
"Don't worry, I'll...no, we all will help you."
Mewt told him. Llednar nodded his head in reassurance.
"Yeah...I still have to get to walking in the real world...if I can achieve that, I know I can achieve anything...just like my brother and Ramza."
Doned stated confidently.
"He better come back alive, or there's going to be trouble. A lot of trouble."
Ritz stated. All things were stacked up for this last battle.
------
Zeltenia, Tower of Delita, 100th Floor
"Give up the traitor...I'll have her head for this..."
Ramza lifted his head as he heard that deep voice. It almost sounded strained. Ramza noticed the torches beginning to dim. He lifted himself from his seat, grasping Cid's sword in the inverted grasp he'd grown fond of, just as Marche had.
"Lucavi...?"
Ramza spoke lowly. He grabbed the book quickly and jumped high in the air as a massive blade sliced through the throne. Once Ramza landed safely, he put the book down and looked back at the throne. The room was to dark to make out the distinct form of the one who did it, but judging from the silhouette Ramza could make out, the person was very tall and gruetesguely disfigured. The body twitched a bit as it walked in Ramza's direction, smashing the rest of what remained of the throne as he broke through it.
"Heh...you must be a troublesome Beoulve brat...your appearance runs in the family...I can't believe she would fall for a weak mortal such as you..."
Said the figure. Ramza had no doubt that this was definitely Lucavi. Even with some light still emanating from the torches, the devil could not be made out, as if his form was absorbing all of the light. The same looked for his massive sword, which did not gleam like normal metal. It looked like a large curved bat like wing.
"Well, it has just happened, so you should believe it. But enough about that. If you want her, come and get her."
Ramza taunted, issuing his challenge. Lucavi chuckled.
"And indeed...I shall..."
With a quick motion that Ramza could barely pick up on, Lucavi lead with an upward slash of his blade which would have cut Ramza's head diagonally in half had Ramza nodded backed his head away. Ramza still cursed under his breath as he felt his forehead and part of his upper cheek was cut. He couldn't dwell on it to long as he saw Lucavi thrust out, Ramza swiftly crouched low to evade the blow as he rushed towards Lucavi's direction with haste. Ramza brought his sword forward with an upward slash, but to his surprise, he and the blade went right through the silhouetted form. Ramza spun in mid air, trying to catch Lucavi in the back but the second strike ended like the first one, with no contact. Lucavi wasted no time in impaling Ramza's chest with his freed arm. Ramza did not feel physical pain and knew what Lucavi was doing. He was pulling away Altima's spirit which resided within him. Ramza refused to give in and let the immortal take away the only chance Ramza had at damaging him, when he could find a way to. Through sheer force of will, Ramza roared, mentally forcing Lucavi's hand out of his chest. Lucavi stepped back, off balance and it was here Ramza saw that the shadowy figure went from translucent to solid black. Ramza quickly gathered a sphere of ice in his palm and thrust at it, letting Cid's weapon become encased in a thick sheet of ice that resembled a massive sharp icicle. The attack was aimed at Lucavi's chest, but the devil sidestepped, only getting clipped in the side, before he jumped away to widen the distance between him and Ramza. Ramza saw a red stain amongst all the black that surrounded Lucavi.
"...Oh, this is quite a scratch..."
Lucavi hissed. Ramza could see that the devil's blood had been frozen to his side. Lucavi put his hand to the injury, crushing his hand against it to let the hardened crimson blood shatter and fall to the floor. His form went translucent again. The injury did not regenerate, which made Ramza want to sigh in relief. Regardless, Ramza still didn't know what triggered Lucavi's form to solidify.
'All I did was force him out of me so he couldn't remove Altima...still his form didn't take long to go invisible again...this means if I were to do it again, the chances for me to throw in a combination attack wouldn't work.'
Ramza didn't have much time to think, as Lucavi slashed out again. Ramza side stepped out of the way as the attack came to him. Lucavi ended up striking one of the torches, dousing what remained of the small flame as it struck the ground. Lucavi chuckled.
"...all these years of inactivity...how could I become so careless...?"
Lucavi hissed out. He quickly began to cut any remaining torches down with unbelievable speed. Soon the entire room was left in darkness.
'Damn...this isn't good...can't rely on my eyes now that he's taken the only source of light.'
Ramza thought as he felt a faint wind pass by him briefly. Ramza jumped back but not quick enough to avoid getting the front of his sweater slashed diagonally in half and a long cut along his torso. His back hit the wall. Ramza felt another attack coming in the form of a downward slash. Ramza quickly rolled along the side of one of the cages to evade, but felt the attack change to follow his direction, cutting a near horizontal wound in Ramza's back. Ramza grunted as he fell on his knees, but quickly rebounded off the wall to avoid another slash. Now in the air, Ramza felt another slash come towards him. Knowing he couldn't simply evade it, Ramza brought his sword forth to defend against the attack. To his surprise, normally an attack that would have originally been blocked seemed to still cut a small wound on Ramza's left shoulder. Ramza fell to the ground, kneeling.
'What happened...its like the attack went through the sword to still strike me...and I anticipated everything perfectly...wait, Altima can help me, yet why doesn't she...?'
Ramza thought, now confused. He now heard Lucavi chuckle. It was no longer so low and hollow sounding however.
"You look like your in quite a predicament, Beoulve brat. Your not mistaken, though. All you can do is run. As long as I reign in complete darkness and during the night time I'm like a true ghost: not solid enough to be hit by you, but solid enough to strike you down. And since I put Altima asleep, she can't aid you with advice, only let you keep that immortality. Not that it will do you any good. Any wound you were able to inflict on me, like that one before are all healed here. Prepare for your greatest nightmare, boy."
Lucavi's words were strong in the dark, no longer a pathetic hiss. Everything now made more sense, however. When Lucavi grasped Altima's spirit from within Ramza's body, Ramza had been successful in preventing her from being taken, so he could have the immortality granted to him by her, but she could not verbally aid him as he would like. Ramza would have started to feel hopeless if that was in his nature, but he did not. Opportunity soon presented itself.
"A storm's coming Lucavi...it should suffice for now."
Ramza said to the devil. Ramza lifted himself up to heave Cid's sword upwards, before striking it firmly in the ground with a yell of determination. The walls began to crumble.
------
Zeltenia, Outside of Tower of Delita
"What the heck is happening up there?"
Victory asked. Everyone witnessed the entire top floor fall from the tower, piece by piece.
"Hope our leader isn't in trouble."
Rooty stated besides the Banga. The two nodded at each other.
------
Zeltenia, Tower of Delita, Remains of the 100th Floor...
The rain fell on Ramza's back. The cool drops of water soothing the fresh cuts he sustained by Lucavi. His sweater already fell to his waist. He was satisfied for acting so quickly. Although it was night time, he could see the devil's figure very clearly. The thunder and lightning would be his true light for now.
"I haven't gotten this far only to lose now. I'll end everything here, Lucavi. Just watch me."
Ramza declared, his eyes set with determination. Lucavi only shook his head.
"You...you will not win. I have...faced all your ancestors and know how to defend against all their special techniques...all you have is a compilation of their...their powers...even your own techniques will be useless once I witness them...there is nothing you can do..."
Lucavi said to him. Ramza didn't know weather to believe this or not, but he had a feeling that Lucavi was being truthful. Nothing in the way he carried himself or spoke could hint that he was telling otherwise.
'I have to pin him down. If I can use my ultimate technique on him it will kill him, but he has to be able to be physically harmed before I can use it against him...what do I do?'
Ramza thought in his head. He took a defensive stance as Lucavi walked towards him. The walk turned into a sprint as Ramza was charged at head on. With a swift turning motion, Lucavi thrusted outward at Ramza's direction. Ramza backflipped out of harms way. He looked up from his kneeling position to look towards Lucavi, but found no one in his line of vision. Ramza's eyes widened as he lifted his head up a bit more. He could sense Lucavi behind him. Ramza quickly turned around but that had been a mistake. He soon found his neck held firmly in Lucavi's grasp, but not quite enough to choke him. Ramza could not even defend himself as his face was met with the pommel of Lucavi's blade as it impacted with his forehead, leaving Ramza stunned. Lucavi released Ramza and brought his sword back, now holding it with two hands. Ramza was sent hard into the ground as Lucavi once again made contact against Ramza's fore head with his pommel. Ramza lifted his head up slowly as Lucavi brought his hand down, almost ready to liberate Altima from within Ramza but stopped. Lucavi decided to enjoy what looked like it would be a victory for him. This meant to keep Ramza suffering in pain and failure.
"Pathetic..."
Lucavi muttered, as he grabbed Ramza's neck and lifted him in the air. Although the rest of Ramza made him look like he was beaten, his eyes carried a slight glimmer of hope. If Ramza could see his opponent's face, he would have seen the scowl that graced it. Lucavi was not one to kill someone until they lost all traces of hope from their beings. Lucavi shifted his weight and flung Ramza bodily against the floor. Ramza slid across the slick stone floor and came to a stop on his back. Ramza gazed out at the black sky as rain continued to fall on his face. Lightning illuminated the sky briefly. Lucavi now stood over him.
"Give up..."
Lucavi hissed, bring his foot up. Angered by Ramza's look, Lucavi proceeded to stomp him like a bug under his heel. Lucavi kept chanting his words to give up, as Ramza gritted his teeth as pain lanced from his chest to the rest of his limbs as Lucavi kept implanting his foot roughly into the man's chest. Ramza's eyes noticed something when the lightning briefly lit the sky again as he looked at Lucavi. Wasting no time, Ramza retaliated with a swing of his sword. Lucavi jumped back to avoid getting struck by the blade. Ramza got up quickly, pushing his aching limbs into action as he rushed towards Lucavi. Ramza timed his pace as lightning struck again. Ramza lashed out with a horizontal sweep of his blade, but it was blocked. Lucavi retaliated quickly as Ramza had hoped, and he brought up his sword to guard the devil's blade. The blades connected. Ramza smirked.
"That's why you don't like the light. If enough is produced, it will cause your body to be physically touchable. Your invisibility powers also seem to get affected when someone resists you taking a spirit from within someone. Such is the case when you tried to remove Altima the first time. You won't do it again, but now that light can also affect you in a similar way..."
Ramza didn't speak anymore as lightning once again flashed across the sky. He pushed Lucavi off balance as best as he could in his own weakened state and tried to retaliate, but Lucavi didn't allow it. Once again, but by sheer force, Lucavi smashed his hilt into Ramza's face, causing him to fall on his stomach. Ramza soon saw Cid's sword kicked out of his grasp. Ramza lifted himself up, but was soon slammed into the ground as Lucavi planted his foot on Ramza's back, pinning him to the ground. Lucavi peered at Ramza's face again. Lucavi then began to grind his heel into Ramza's back, along the wound he gave Ramza earlier to amplify the pain.
"Just...give...up..."
Lucavi hissed out. Ramza refused to allow himself to scream out his pain even though his lungs burned to release one through his throat. Ramza closed one eye in order to concentrate on alleviating the pain he felt. His opened eye caught the faint glimmer of the Cid's sword a good four feet away. Ramza opened both eyes in surprise at what he saw when lighting cut through the darkness. Beside the sword was the Gran Grimoire. Ramza lowered his head and closed his eyes.
'I...have...not...come...this...far...only...to...fail...I REFUSE TO FAIL!!!'
A smile graced Ramza's lips. He had a plan.
------
'Montblanc...'
Montblanc, who had dosed off for a bit, jolted upright from his sleeping position.
"Marche, kupo?"
He asked looking around.
'Ramza, actually. I need a favor. I want you and the rest of Clan Ruglia to summon the Divine Beasts. They lended us you their power, remember? Have the rest of the clan members summon them along with you and send the Divine Beasts up here. Order them to bind the demon of shadows.'
Montblanc heard Ramza say in his head. Montblanc complied and quickly scurried to his the rest of his clan members.
"Listen everyone, we've been given an order by Ramza to follow, kupo."
Montblanc said seriously. Everyone looked at him as if he had gone nuts.
"Are you sure your over protective nature isn't getting the best of you, Montblanc?"
Rooty asked. Montblanc glared at all of them.
"This is an order from your second in command, kupo! You will follow my orders in Marche or Ramza's absence, kupo!"
Montblanc said sternly. No one could argue with that.
"So then, what does he want us to do?"
Hedges inquired. Montblanc nodded.
"We all have the Divine Beasts powers granted to us from when Marche destroyed the Crystals, kupo. We need to summon them and send them up the tower to bind a demon of shadows Ramza is fighting, kupo. If Ramza is asking for help, it must be a very difficult battle to overcome, even with that Altima chick granting him immortality, kupo. Understand, kupo?"
Montblanc asked them. Everyone nodded. Everyone now faced in a circle and began to concentrate. Particles of light began to emanate from their bodies and fill the air. This of course got everyone's attention.
"Montblanc, What's going on here?"
Cid asked him but Montblanc did not respond. Soon the clan members of Clan Ruglia felt the hidden powers of the Divine Beasts within and extracted them from within into the physical world. Rooty summoned Corrupt Emperor Mateus, Victory summoned Spirit God of Wrath Adrammelech, Hedges summoned Fallen Angel Ultima, Celine summoned Spectral Tree of Judgment Exodus, and Montblanc summoned Dark Cloud Famfreet.
(Note: Hey, you didn't think I wasn't going to use them at least once during this story, did you?)
------
Zeltenia, Tower of Delita, Remains of 100th Floor...
So far Ramza was getting kicked around like a rag doll, not that it really mattered to him anymore. The fact that he seemed so close to being on the verge of giving up hope just to rise again was starting to anger Lucavi more and more. Yet the devil could not kill him until he wiped all traces of his hope away, and in his anger, he became careless. He only focused on Ramza, not even sensing the summoning of Divine Beasts as they were making their way up the tower.
"I'm...growing tired...of this...so I'll just have...to finish you here...and now..."
Lucavi said. He brought his blade high over his head. He then slashed downward, prepared to kill Ramza right then but stopped mid swing.
"What is this power...?"
Lucavi muttered. He couldn't dwell on it long as he was then tackled and bound a little off the ground by chains of light courtesy of five Divine Beasts.
"What...are...these...?"
Lucavi struggled to free himself. Ignoring the ache he found in his sore body, Ramza got up and rushed for Cid's weapon. His muscles felt like they were on fire, but he refused to give in to the pain just yet.
'All I need is one good blow, and he'll be dead, I should know considering this attack will be the one thing he fears most. The Divine Beasts binding technique will make his form visible. There's no reason to hold back.'
"It's time to die, Lucavi. Being an immortal, I can kill you like any normal mortal now."
Were all the words Ramza spoke as he pushed himself to run forward, letting his entire left fist get engulfed by a sphere of holy magic. Once he was right in front of the devil, Ramza struck him with the sphere. Now the sphere was planted along Lucavi's chest, who was screaming out in pain. Ramza swiftly removed his hand from the sphere, bringing forth his sword wielding right arm to strike at the sphere. A tremendous explosion of white light ensued, to great for Lucavi to endure as his form began to dissolve into a true mist and then faded out by the burning white light that illuminated the sky. After the light faded, Ramza smile and closed his eyes, falling to the ground in exhaustion.
(Note: Think Sol Badguy's Tyrant Rave Version Beta from the Guilty Gear series.)
------
Unknown Place
"Ramza...Ramza..."
Ramza opened his eyes.
"Alma, your here. This place...am I dead again?"
Ramza asked as he got up. His body ached a little, but otherwise it felt a lot better.
"Nope, your alive. Anyway, now everything is your choice. The false Ivalice's sovereignty and your new found powers you regained when you became whole. That's all I wanted to tell you. Well, then there's Altima..."
Alma said, her speech trailing off. Ramza chuckled.
"I should have known you'd have a back up plan like that one. I'm glad actually. If I had to fight Delita fully, I would, but that doesn't mean that I want to."
Ramza said truthfully.
"What do you plan for this world, brother?"
Alma asked. Ramza lowered his head to think, but he didn't think long.
"If I'm the master of the Gran Grimoire, I will separate the two Ivalices. The one I came from will remain while I'll create another space to place this alternate Ivalice. After that, I'll bury Delita in our Ivalice. Even if all the things he did were less that honorable, no one has the right to blame a person for doing what they think is right. After that, I guess it will be time to release everyone who was used in making my eyes. I also want to have the rest of my spirit removed from this body. I'll give Altima the chance she deserves, and then Marche will truly be free of me except for our memories, which will be the only things intertwined and bound together with one another. This way I can wait for all my friends and family to return to normal. It is my time anyway."
He said.
------
And so...
Everything was done as Ramza said he'd do it. Now owner of the Gran Grimoire, he separated the original Ivalice from the dream one and made it it's own separate world. He buried Delita in the Church his wife had been buried at. Ramza hoped they could make amends in the afterlife. Ramza also brought the Buster Sword and Masamune to the world Cloud hailed from. He had no physical bodies to bury, but he hoped it would suffice to have their swords brought back to where their originated from. After all this, Ramza transferred ownership of the Gran Grimoire to Marche and departed with his sister Alma and the Bloody Angel Altima. Marche and the rest returned to the town of St. Ivalice...
(Note: From here on out, things will be mentioned in terms of location and the character's name to follow his or her's scenario.)
------
St. Ivalice, Marche's house, Marche, Doned, and their mom
"That's it, keep it steady."
Marche said.
"What made you decide all this, Doned?"
Ms. Radiuju asked. Doned looked at her.
"Big brother encouraged me. It will take a while, but I plan to be walking for the rest of my natural life. It will take a long time, but it's not impossible if I hold sight of what it is I want to do."
Doned said to her. Both Marche and Ms. Radiuju were on either side of Doned, helping him to use his new leg crutches. Doned was sweating like crazy from the exhausting effort of trying to walk, but his eyes gleamed with determination not to give up.
------
St. Ivalice, Work Place, Cid
"Wow, you actually look sober. Taking a new medication?"
A female co worker asked Cid. Cid nodded.
"Yep. I call it -Stop drinking from now on so you can take care of your sons-. It's great for stopping annoying hang overs."
Cid said, jokingly . The woman looked at him astonished.
"Wait, you have more than one son? Who's the lucky girl to give you a child?"
She asked him. Cid shook his head.
"He's another child of my wife and I. DNA tests prove it. I don't know how it came to be or how I didn't know about it. Mewt simply insisted it was so. He was right too. It's time I cleaned up my act, for both of them."
Cid said firmly. The woman nodded, impressed.
"I'm glad. Good thing you decided to do it while their still young too. What's your other son's name?"
She asked.
"Llednar. Llednar Randell."
Once he said the name, the woman laughed. Cid looked at her strangely.
"What's so funny?"
He inquired. The woman shook her head.
"Isn't his first name just your family name spelled backwards?"
She asked him. Cid put a hand to his chin in thought.
"Hey, you know something, your right. What an odd coincidence."
Cid agreed.
------
St. Ivalice, Outside of the School yard, Mewt and Llednar
"Well, well, well...look who showed up...with a freaky look alike?"
Lyle said as he saw Llednar.
"Hey, Mewt, who's your new friend?"
Collin asked.
"He's my brother actually. Got a problem with that?"
Mewt inquired. Everyone stared at him oddly. The day Mewt stood tall and didn't cower behind Ritz was one they thought would never come. Of course Ritz had yet to make an appearance if at all. The school wasn't even open officially considering it was Saturday. Kids were just here to enjoy snow ball fights.
"Well, would you look at that? Mewt's standing up for himself."
Corin stated.
"Hey, rather than we kick your sorry butts to kingdom come, why not settle this over a snow ball fight? We'll even give you a ten point handicap and it will be four on two."
Llednar inquired. The older boys looked at each other.
"Are you serious? Fine, but don't go running to daddy if you get hurt."
Lyle said, agreeing to the terms. That had been a mistake. Mewt and Llednar brought a whole new meaning to the game. Lyle and his gang didn't even know what hit them and were on the ground exhausted. All hits to them were head shots. Not something that happened very often. The two brothers were treated with greater respect after that.
------
St. Ivalice, Ritz's house, Ritz and her mom, follows with Marche soon after
"So, your going to school, dear?"
Ms. Malheur asked her daughter, her voice sounding lighter than it usually did. Ritz nodded.
"Yes, mom. I don't know when I'll be back but I'll give you a call."
Ritz said. She had been standing at the door for a while, steeling her nerves. This would be the first time in a while she'd be out with her hair it's natural color.
"Ritz?"
A familiar voice asked. Ritz almost jumped ten feet in the air with surprise. Marche had called out to her. She turned around to face him. He was on the sidewalk, dressed warmly like he usually was. It was understandable considering it snowed regularly in St. Ivalice.
"Oh, and who might you be?"
Ms. Malheur asked him, from behind Ritz. Ritz almost went airborne again in surprise.
"Oh, you must be Ritz's mother. I'm Marche Radiuju, one of her class mates. It's nice to meet you."
He said politely with a wave of his hand. He turned to Ritz again.
"Are you heading towards the school, Ritz? I'll escort you if you want."
Marche offered. Ritz shook her head.
"Go on ahead, Marche. I'll catch up with you soon. I need to get my...scarf, yeah. Don't worry, I'll see you soon."
Ritz said, closing the door behind her.
"You already have your scarf on, dear."
Her mom told her. Ritz put a hand to it.
"Hey, what do you know, I do. Okay see you later, mom."
She said hastily, trying to fend off a creeping blush. Her mother didn't give her the time of course.
"Of course you wouldn't want your boyfriend to wait on you forever."
Her mom said. Ritz looked at her.
"Hey now, he's not my boyfriend, just a...a friend who happens to be a boy."
'Real smooth Ritz...you'll never hear the end of this now...'
Ritz thought.
"Are you sure? He's still waiting out there, despite you telling him to go on ahead."
Ms. Malheur said, looking out the window that was on the right side of the door. Ritz also took a peek after hearing that. True to her mother's words, Marche was leaning against the fence, waiting. Ms. Malheur opened the door, dragging a surprised Ritz out.
"Well, it's best not to keep him waiting out there to freeze to death. Get on out of here and go GET him."
The emphasis on the word get was not lost on Ritz. Her mother also gave emphasis on her words by giving Ritz a playful slap on the rear, which in turned caused Ritz to yelp slightly as the door was closed behind her. Of course the sound got Marche's attention as well.
"Oh there you are. You okay?"
He inquired. Ritz nodded, trying to stop the annoying blush she knew was gracing her cheeks.
"Yeah. I realized I had my scarf on the entire time. Don't you hate it when you don't realize you've already put something on and you then think you lost it somewhere?"
Ritz asked. Of course she was lying as she already knew she had the scarf on, but didn't want her mom to pester her about her relationship with Marche. A whole lot of good it did anyway.
"Since Mewt and Llednar live closer to the school, I'd wager their probably over at the school already."
Marche said as the two began to walk. Ritz nodded.
"Yeah, probably getting revenge against Lyle and the others."
Ritz said. Marche laughed.
"Yeah, probably. Anyway, on to other subjects. You look beautiful, Ritz."
Marche said. It came out quite suddenly and caught Ritz off guard.
"W...what?"
'Stuttering...real smooth again Ritz...'
Ritz chastised herself.
"I always though you looked beautiful with your red hair. But seeing you as you are now, I don't only think your beautiful, I'm glad that you look happier as well than I've ever seen you before."
Marche said truthfully. Ritz, the master of come backs and witty remarks was left speechless for a moment, realizing the two of them had stopped walking.
"No one's ever told me that before, Marche. Thank you."
Ritz said after a little bit, offering a warm smile. Marche held out his arm.
"Well we should get going if we want to get into a snow ball fight."
Marche said. Ritz looked at his arm. Marche smirked.
"What's wrong? Is the Great Ritz to high and mighty to allow herself to intertwine her arm around this lowly Marche?"
Marche asked jokingly. Ritz could see a bit of hope in his eyes that she would accept his offer.
"Is that your way of saying you want to be my boyfriend?"
Ritz teased. Marche smiled.
"What do you think?"
Of course there was no need for words, however. Ritz looped her arm around Marche's as the two walked off to the school, hand in hand.
'Good Luck.'
Marche stopped briefly when he heard the voice in his head. He looked up at the cloud filled sky.
"Marche?"
Ritz asked. Marche looked down and shook his head, smiling.
"Nothing Ritz, I thought I heard something, that's all. Hey how about in a couple of weeks we all go and spend some time in the Alternate Ivalice?"
Marche asked. Ritz nodded.
"Sure, why not? We can meet all our friends again!"
Ritz said excitedly. As the owner of the Gran Grimoire, Marche had the power to send all of them back to the world where their first adventure started. So in the end, perhaps everything worked out for the better. As Marche and Ritz walked to school, Marche kept thinking about one of the large clouds he saw in the sky. It was almost as if it was shaped into all of Ramza and his friends. The thought brought a smile to Marche's face.
'We will meet again someday, Ramza. All of us. Someday, but not yet.'
END
Note: Well, there you have it. I didn't want to use the FFTA original ending because everyone probably would have just gotten sick of having to see the same old thing. Hopefully this ending was to your liking. Remember that friend who unintentionally inspired me to type up the Cloud and Sephiroth fight? She was nice enough to type up this chapter from my written copy. That's the reason I was able to get this up so fast. Anyway, as for the slight Ramza / Alitma pairing, it was inspired by a piece of fan art I saw on a site. Yes, I know that was a surprise and probably would never really happen, but that's why this is a fanfiction. Anyway, thanks to all who reviewed this story and had fun reading it. If you like this piece of fiction of mine, I also hope you like other works of mine, too. So until then, See ya.