Author's Note: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of the characters therein.
Characters not appearing in games are of my own design.
Chapter One-The Entry of the Database By Charles Smith
The neon haze of the city lights washed over the polished black surface of the being, reflecting from it in odd, prismatic patterns. The light really didn't bother the little creature. His photo-receptors blocked it out. What did bother him was constantly being pushed aside or grabbed and thrown. Being a little black ball that floated through the air was not as easy as it looked. Especially not on the neatly-ordered streets of Server City, the largest city in the fairly new Technological Collective.
"Hey Database! Wait up!" The orb stopped and rotated, observing the flowing, slithering movements of the Anacondaur and the fast-moving blur of light and tinkling sound that was Pixie. The two darted through the bustling crowds of machine and cyborg Chiallans, drawing looks of both irritation and frustration, which they ignored.
INPUT: SERPENTINE CHIALLAN. 15.6 METERS TALL. DARK-GREEN SCALES, RED EYES, FANGED. RED MANE OF HAIR. CHECKING.... STANDBY.... ENTRY CONFIRMED: ANACONDAUR. DESGINATION: FRIEND.
INPUT: HUMANOID CHIALLAN. 1.6 MICROMETERS TALL. BLONDE HAIR, BLUE EYES. WINGED, WITH SELF-GENERATED AURA OF SILVER LIGHT. CHECKING.... STANDBY... ENTRY CONFIRMED: PIXIE. DESGINATION: FRIEND.
"Greetings. Pleasant day." His two friends came to a stop before him, ignoring the cold, mechanical tone their friend used. It was the only tone that had been programmed into him at birth. "What brings you in such haste? I clocked you at a combined speed of 2.5 clicks."
"Don't you remember?" The tiny Pixie put both hands on seal-curve hips, glaring at her spheroid friend in mock-exasperation. "I thought your memory was perfect!"
"Query."
Anacondaur shook his massive head. "The celebration! The birth of Lord Bahamut'ssss heir!"
"My data banks indicate that neither of you wished to attend."
Pixie shook her head, her hair shimmering like a golden waterfall. "That's the problem with computers. They're so inflexible. Did it ever occur to you that we might have been joking?" She stared into the blank monitor panel and sighed. "Go ahead and bring him. By the time he updates himself with our change of mind, the ceremony will be over." She fixed the snake with a meaningful glare and Anacondaur gave a serpentine grin, launching forward and gently clamping his fangs around Database.
"Query! Protest!"
Pixie flew alongside the two as they made their way through the packed streets towards Nexus Plaza, where the telecast of the ceremony would be beamed in from the Lunar Palace. "Oh be quiet. You don't get out nearly enough for your own good. Maybe if you observe some life in action for a change, you might start to understand it a little. And there's no better place for that than at this ceremony!" She pumped her fist in the air, grinning.
The Coronation Ceremony was a traditional ritual, dating back to the dawn of time on Chialla. Legend had it that the first Bahamut, King of the Dragons, had been the primal entity responsible for the creation of Chialla, or at least, its' first ruler (theologians debated the subject endlessly). Since that time, the Dragon Clan had ruled Chialla, though in recent centuries that rulership had been increasingly nominal. With the rise of the Giants, the Tonberries, and other organized kingdoms, the Dragons had left Chialla itself to the new races and retreated to the blue moon. Technically, all Chiallans answered to Bahamut, but the rulers often went their own way in these more progressive times. Still, a Bahamut only produced an heir once every one hundred years, so when the blessed event happened, the celebration all over Chialla and its' moons was immense.
As the Nexus Plaza approached, the three beings could see the crowds that had come out. This being the Technological Collective, home of those Chiallans who were partly technological (like Cyborg, the Cyber Knights, and the great sage Technomancer), and fully technological, sentient Chiallans (like the Alexander family, the Steel Dragon, and Database himself), the Plaza was crowded all manner of machinery. The light from Omnilumiere, the sun, gleamed from chrome, from steel, from synthetic plastics and optical sensors of all sorts. Clanks, clinks, whistles, and a wide variety of buzzing and beeping assaulted the ears (or audio sensors). There was barely enough room for Anacondaur to slither in and deposit Database. Pixie was forced to sit atop Anacondaur's head.
The Plaza itself was expansive, spreading two miles across and wide. Circuits of blue, green, and red ran through the gleaming black surface of the ground and pillars, gleaming as data was transferred all over the Collective and into the wired regions of Chialla. The skies of Chialla were full of the Skydancers this day, those of the faerie species, like Pixie, who were trained to weave their glittery trails and auras in an aerial dance of surpassing wonder. The Skydancers were weaving around the floating crystal pillars that supported between them the monitors that would receive the broadcast of the Ceremony live from the Lunar Palace.
"What do you think this one's going to look like?" This from a Cyber Imp off to the left, his ocular implant gleaming an eerie blue in the metal plate covering a part of his face.
"I don't know." The response came from a Cyber Knight in gleaming silver armor with blue circuits embedded into it, his blazing electron sword sheathed. The voice modulator built into the hulking cyborg's face expressed disdain. "But the last one was born with a massive disk on its' back. Who has ever heard of a dragon with a disk on their back? It's freakish!"
Pixie flew up into the Knight's face. "Who in the Dark World are you to judge, bastard?! So what if the Bahamut has a disk on his back, or three eyes, or is even pink?! He'd still kick your sorry ass! Jerks like you judge without even being aware of the facts? How would you like it if people judged you for being a cyborg, huh?!"
The Knight swatted at Pixie and missed. "Stupid fluffball! Get lost! What would you know?!"
But Pixie's outburst had emboldened others, who chimed in fiercely. "Yeah, who are you to judge, cyborg?!" "What gives you the right?" "We're all different here, that's what makes us unique!" It was several moments before the Cyber Knight backed down to the increasing public censure and slunk away into the crowds.
Pixie sniffed. "See. Ignorant people shouldn't be allowed in public."
Database tilted his monitor panel to regard her. "Query. If ignorant people did not speak, how would we know they were ignorant?"
Pixie stared at him for a moment, then laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Besides, it wouldn't be as fun to mock them!" She giggled.
"You're mean, Pixie." Anacondaur tilted his eyes up to regard her.
"Am not! I just expose stupidity for what it is!"
Anacondaur laughed, then covered his eyes with his nictating membranes as the fireworks began. Across the plaza, Alexander VIII had mounted an ebony dais and opened his shoulder cannons. Normally, most sane beings would run for cover from the feared Holy Judgment of the powerful android of Light. Today, however, Alexander's cannons were pumping out multi-colored fireworks, not the pale, searing beams of holy light. The exploding fireworks spiraling through the air caused an excited murmur to run through the crowd. Fireworks displays from all the other regions of Chialla joined the display, turning the sky every color of the rainbow. Shortly afterwards, a great bell chimed through the air. All present looked up at the crystal monitors as they flickered to life.
On the monitors, the Lunar Palace came into view. The Palace was a mass of crystal spires, seemingly jammed together, but possessing a level of sophisticated architecture found in few places through the multiverse. Each spire was over one hundred feet tall and wide, connected to each other by spindly-looking bridges of every sort of rare gem and mineral. Each spire was a different color, each polished to a glowing gleam. Dragons of all types soared the spires, their calls echoing across the smooth blue moonscape. The camera panned down to a coiled black Shadow Dragon, a microphone propped up before her.
"Welcome, viewers!" The voice was sibilant and soft. "In just a moment, we will go live to the Crystal Spire, where Lord Bahamut will present his heir, carefully nurtured in his egg since the tragic death of the Dragon Queen a year ago. The atmosphere here is tense as we wait for the arrival of the Dragon King and his heir. Oh, wait!" The Shadow Dragon touched something close to her ear. "We're getting word that Lord Bahamut has arrived in the chamber and the fanfare is starting. We're cutting to a live shot of the ceremony, ladies and gentlemen.
The image shifted to the interior of the Palace. The Crystal Spire was the centermost spire of the Palace, formed of a prismatic crystal that reflected all colors of the rainbow in a soft wave of radiance. The massive chamber was supported by delicate, fluted arches and slender pillars, formed in a symmetric circle. The smooth floor led up to a large round dais at the far end of the room. The dais was circular, stretching up fifteen feet from the floor. Upon it sat the black, opalescent throne of Bahamut, King of Dragons and Lord of all Chialla. The throne gleamed in the light, its' twisted contours and the dragon-heads all designed for a non-humanoid comfort. All the light in the room focused on it, creating a pastel rainbow aura about the hard black throne.
As the trumpeters and musicians started their fanfare, the light shifted to reveal the bulk of the great Bahamut entering his throne chamber. The muscular dragon's dark-blue scales gleamed from the light. His claws made a soft clinking sound as they touched the crystal delicately. Large wings bearing brightly-colored armored feathers flared out behind him, just below the large, thick golden disk. The horned head bore a regal, pleased smile as the strong arms bore up the tiny, cooing, black-scaled dragonling. The scaly tail flickered from side to side, not detracting from the royal aura the great dragon presented.
And around him, the gathered rulers of Chialla clapped. They stood gathered about the chamber in a wide semi-circle on both sides, assembled in all their glory. The camera panned in on such luminaries as Titan, King of the Giants, decorated in his purple-and-gold robes. Alexander IX and the Doomtrain practically filled one side of the room. The tiny form of the Telin, the Tonberry King, clad in his traditional monkish robe, was practically lost by comparison. On the other side of the room stood Shiva, the Ice Queen, dressed in a flowing blue-on-blue dress in stark contrast to her normal attire. Ifrit, Lord of Fire, was standing next to her in formal red-and-gold attire, his heat washing over the black-clad form of Diablos, Black Lord of the Dark. The famous musician Siren was leading the orchestra, with the Cactaur King standing stiffly near her. The camera panned up to catch other famous Chiallans in the air of the chamber, such as Phoenix, Eden, the Steel Dragon, and Madeen.
When Bahamut arrived at the dais, he was greeted by his traditional stewards: Leviathan, Master of Oceans, and his wife Asura the Healer came forward to begin the ceremony. The honor guard, led by Sir Odin, the Legendary Knight who commanded Chialla's military, and by Crusader, the mysterious Captain of the Royal Guard, broke ranks and formed a circle around the dais. The music stopped. All was in readiness. Bahamut turned to face the crowd of nobles and the cameras.
"My people. I come before you this day to present my son and heir, Bahamut the Eleventh, one day to be Lord of Chialla and King of Dragons!" The Dragon King's voice was booming, resonant. He raised his tiny son over his head, to the overwhelming applause of the nobles in the room and the millions upon millions of viewers around Chialla.
~Now~
A blinding flare of white light erupted, canceling the radiance of the chamber in one engulfing burst. As Database and his friends watched on the monitors, other flares of light began to appear all over Chialla. The wailing of injured people and the crash of thousands of tons of stone, wood, and rock from destroyed buildings drowned out the chaos on the crystal monitors.
"Query. What is going on?"
His answer was the roar as a mob of panicky Chiallans fled in terror, running from the death that came from the sky.
Chapter One-The Entry of the Database By Charles Smith
The neon haze of the city lights washed over the polished black surface of the being, reflecting from it in odd, prismatic patterns. The light really didn't bother the little creature. His photo-receptors blocked it out. What did bother him was constantly being pushed aside or grabbed and thrown. Being a little black ball that floated through the air was not as easy as it looked. Especially not on the neatly-ordered streets of Server City, the largest city in the fairly new Technological Collective.
"Hey Database! Wait up!" The orb stopped and rotated, observing the flowing, slithering movements of the Anacondaur and the fast-moving blur of light and tinkling sound that was Pixie. The two darted through the bustling crowds of machine and cyborg Chiallans, drawing looks of both irritation and frustration, which they ignored.
INPUT: SERPENTINE CHIALLAN. 15.6 METERS TALL. DARK-GREEN SCALES, RED EYES, FANGED. RED MANE OF HAIR. CHECKING.... STANDBY.... ENTRY CONFIRMED: ANACONDAUR. DESGINATION: FRIEND.
INPUT: HUMANOID CHIALLAN. 1.6 MICROMETERS TALL. BLONDE HAIR, BLUE EYES. WINGED, WITH SELF-GENERATED AURA OF SILVER LIGHT. CHECKING.... STANDBY... ENTRY CONFIRMED: PIXIE. DESGINATION: FRIEND.
"Greetings. Pleasant day." His two friends came to a stop before him, ignoring the cold, mechanical tone their friend used. It was the only tone that had been programmed into him at birth. "What brings you in such haste? I clocked you at a combined speed of 2.5 clicks."
"Don't you remember?" The tiny Pixie put both hands on seal-curve hips, glaring at her spheroid friend in mock-exasperation. "I thought your memory was perfect!"
"Query."
Anacondaur shook his massive head. "The celebration! The birth of Lord Bahamut'ssss heir!"
"My data banks indicate that neither of you wished to attend."
Pixie shook her head, her hair shimmering like a golden waterfall. "That's the problem with computers. They're so inflexible. Did it ever occur to you that we might have been joking?" She stared into the blank monitor panel and sighed. "Go ahead and bring him. By the time he updates himself with our change of mind, the ceremony will be over." She fixed the snake with a meaningful glare and Anacondaur gave a serpentine grin, launching forward and gently clamping his fangs around Database.
"Query! Protest!"
Pixie flew alongside the two as they made their way through the packed streets towards Nexus Plaza, where the telecast of the ceremony would be beamed in from the Lunar Palace. "Oh be quiet. You don't get out nearly enough for your own good. Maybe if you observe some life in action for a change, you might start to understand it a little. And there's no better place for that than at this ceremony!" She pumped her fist in the air, grinning.
The Coronation Ceremony was a traditional ritual, dating back to the dawn of time on Chialla. Legend had it that the first Bahamut, King of the Dragons, had been the primal entity responsible for the creation of Chialla, or at least, its' first ruler (theologians debated the subject endlessly). Since that time, the Dragon Clan had ruled Chialla, though in recent centuries that rulership had been increasingly nominal. With the rise of the Giants, the Tonberries, and other organized kingdoms, the Dragons had left Chialla itself to the new races and retreated to the blue moon. Technically, all Chiallans answered to Bahamut, but the rulers often went their own way in these more progressive times. Still, a Bahamut only produced an heir once every one hundred years, so when the blessed event happened, the celebration all over Chialla and its' moons was immense.
As the Nexus Plaza approached, the three beings could see the crowds that had come out. This being the Technological Collective, home of those Chiallans who were partly technological (like Cyborg, the Cyber Knights, and the great sage Technomancer), and fully technological, sentient Chiallans (like the Alexander family, the Steel Dragon, and Database himself), the Plaza was crowded all manner of machinery. The light from Omnilumiere, the sun, gleamed from chrome, from steel, from synthetic plastics and optical sensors of all sorts. Clanks, clinks, whistles, and a wide variety of buzzing and beeping assaulted the ears (or audio sensors). There was barely enough room for Anacondaur to slither in and deposit Database. Pixie was forced to sit atop Anacondaur's head.
The Plaza itself was expansive, spreading two miles across and wide. Circuits of blue, green, and red ran through the gleaming black surface of the ground and pillars, gleaming as data was transferred all over the Collective and into the wired regions of Chialla. The skies of Chialla were full of the Skydancers this day, those of the faerie species, like Pixie, who were trained to weave their glittery trails and auras in an aerial dance of surpassing wonder. The Skydancers were weaving around the floating crystal pillars that supported between them the monitors that would receive the broadcast of the Ceremony live from the Lunar Palace.
"What do you think this one's going to look like?" This from a Cyber Imp off to the left, his ocular implant gleaming an eerie blue in the metal plate covering a part of his face.
"I don't know." The response came from a Cyber Knight in gleaming silver armor with blue circuits embedded into it, his blazing electron sword sheathed. The voice modulator built into the hulking cyborg's face expressed disdain. "But the last one was born with a massive disk on its' back. Who has ever heard of a dragon with a disk on their back? It's freakish!"
Pixie flew up into the Knight's face. "Who in the Dark World are you to judge, bastard?! So what if the Bahamut has a disk on his back, or three eyes, or is even pink?! He'd still kick your sorry ass! Jerks like you judge without even being aware of the facts? How would you like it if people judged you for being a cyborg, huh?!"
The Knight swatted at Pixie and missed. "Stupid fluffball! Get lost! What would you know?!"
But Pixie's outburst had emboldened others, who chimed in fiercely. "Yeah, who are you to judge, cyborg?!" "What gives you the right?" "We're all different here, that's what makes us unique!" It was several moments before the Cyber Knight backed down to the increasing public censure and slunk away into the crowds.
Pixie sniffed. "See. Ignorant people shouldn't be allowed in public."
Database tilted his monitor panel to regard her. "Query. If ignorant people did not speak, how would we know they were ignorant?"
Pixie stared at him for a moment, then laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Besides, it wouldn't be as fun to mock them!" She giggled.
"You're mean, Pixie." Anacondaur tilted his eyes up to regard her.
"Am not! I just expose stupidity for what it is!"
Anacondaur laughed, then covered his eyes with his nictating membranes as the fireworks began. Across the plaza, Alexander VIII had mounted an ebony dais and opened his shoulder cannons. Normally, most sane beings would run for cover from the feared Holy Judgment of the powerful android of Light. Today, however, Alexander's cannons were pumping out multi-colored fireworks, not the pale, searing beams of holy light. The exploding fireworks spiraling through the air caused an excited murmur to run through the crowd. Fireworks displays from all the other regions of Chialla joined the display, turning the sky every color of the rainbow. Shortly afterwards, a great bell chimed through the air. All present looked up at the crystal monitors as they flickered to life.
On the monitors, the Lunar Palace came into view. The Palace was a mass of crystal spires, seemingly jammed together, but possessing a level of sophisticated architecture found in few places through the multiverse. Each spire was over one hundred feet tall and wide, connected to each other by spindly-looking bridges of every sort of rare gem and mineral. Each spire was a different color, each polished to a glowing gleam. Dragons of all types soared the spires, their calls echoing across the smooth blue moonscape. The camera panned down to a coiled black Shadow Dragon, a microphone propped up before her.
"Welcome, viewers!" The voice was sibilant and soft. "In just a moment, we will go live to the Crystal Spire, where Lord Bahamut will present his heir, carefully nurtured in his egg since the tragic death of the Dragon Queen a year ago. The atmosphere here is tense as we wait for the arrival of the Dragon King and his heir. Oh, wait!" The Shadow Dragon touched something close to her ear. "We're getting word that Lord Bahamut has arrived in the chamber and the fanfare is starting. We're cutting to a live shot of the ceremony, ladies and gentlemen.
The image shifted to the interior of the Palace. The Crystal Spire was the centermost spire of the Palace, formed of a prismatic crystal that reflected all colors of the rainbow in a soft wave of radiance. The massive chamber was supported by delicate, fluted arches and slender pillars, formed in a symmetric circle. The smooth floor led up to a large round dais at the far end of the room. The dais was circular, stretching up fifteen feet from the floor. Upon it sat the black, opalescent throne of Bahamut, King of Dragons and Lord of all Chialla. The throne gleamed in the light, its' twisted contours and the dragon-heads all designed for a non-humanoid comfort. All the light in the room focused on it, creating a pastel rainbow aura about the hard black throne.
As the trumpeters and musicians started their fanfare, the light shifted to reveal the bulk of the great Bahamut entering his throne chamber. The muscular dragon's dark-blue scales gleamed from the light. His claws made a soft clinking sound as they touched the crystal delicately. Large wings bearing brightly-colored armored feathers flared out behind him, just below the large, thick golden disk. The horned head bore a regal, pleased smile as the strong arms bore up the tiny, cooing, black-scaled dragonling. The scaly tail flickered from side to side, not detracting from the royal aura the great dragon presented.
And around him, the gathered rulers of Chialla clapped. They stood gathered about the chamber in a wide semi-circle on both sides, assembled in all their glory. The camera panned in on such luminaries as Titan, King of the Giants, decorated in his purple-and-gold robes. Alexander IX and the Doomtrain practically filled one side of the room. The tiny form of the Telin, the Tonberry King, clad in his traditional monkish robe, was practically lost by comparison. On the other side of the room stood Shiva, the Ice Queen, dressed in a flowing blue-on-blue dress in stark contrast to her normal attire. Ifrit, Lord of Fire, was standing next to her in formal red-and-gold attire, his heat washing over the black-clad form of Diablos, Black Lord of the Dark. The famous musician Siren was leading the orchestra, with the Cactaur King standing stiffly near her. The camera panned up to catch other famous Chiallans in the air of the chamber, such as Phoenix, Eden, the Steel Dragon, and Madeen.
When Bahamut arrived at the dais, he was greeted by his traditional stewards: Leviathan, Master of Oceans, and his wife Asura the Healer came forward to begin the ceremony. The honor guard, led by Sir Odin, the Legendary Knight who commanded Chialla's military, and by Crusader, the mysterious Captain of the Royal Guard, broke ranks and formed a circle around the dais. The music stopped. All was in readiness. Bahamut turned to face the crowd of nobles and the cameras.
"My people. I come before you this day to present my son and heir, Bahamut the Eleventh, one day to be Lord of Chialla and King of Dragons!" The Dragon King's voice was booming, resonant. He raised his tiny son over his head, to the overwhelming applause of the nobles in the room and the millions upon millions of viewers around Chialla.
~Now~
A blinding flare of white light erupted, canceling the radiance of the chamber in one engulfing burst. As Database and his friends watched on the monitors, other flares of light began to appear all over Chialla. The wailing of injured people and the crash of thousands of tons of stone, wood, and rock from destroyed buildings drowned out the chaos on the crystal monitors.
"Query. What is going on?"
His answer was the roar as a mob of panicky Chiallans fled in terror, running from the death that came from the sky.