Disclaimer: Final Fantasy IV and the official English (mis)translations of the game belong to Square-Enix, not me. Any original ideas or characters I introduce do belong to me, however.

Sorry about the late update. As you probably already know, this was due to the site being in read-only status for about the last week.

As always, comments and constructive criticism are welcomed. Flames will be laughed at.

Chapter 4

"ANNA!"

The face of Tellah the Sage was contorted in an odd mixture of anger and worry. His three companions, the two knights and the young girl, watched him with worry, not quite sure what he would do in response to this latest event.

"We are going to the castle. Now!" the sage almost barked at his traveling companions.

The four travelers hurried to Castle Damcyan as quickly as they could. Unfortunately, turned out to still too slow. After ten minutes of running, the group slowed down as they realized that they were still a long ways off from the castle. In the distance, the outline of the desert castle could be seen, as well as a faint trail of smoke rising from the edifice.

"Can't the girl summon us some chocobos to ride?" Tellah asked Cecil gruffly as they walked across the North Damcyan Desert.

Rydia, hearing this comment, answered, "Umm...I can summon one...but I need to stay with the chocobo and make sure it doesn't get hurt."

"Why?" the sage questioned.

"If the summoned creature dies, then the summoner will...die...as well," Cecil informed Tellah.

"Alright, then let's have Rydia summon a chocobo and I'll ride with her to the castle!" Tellah said.

Rydia stopped in her tracks and began a summoning, but ceased when Cecil put his armored hand on her shoulder.

"No," he said, "I need to be with her to take care of her. The castle was just attacked, which means that there might still be soldiers from Baron there. They already tried to kill her once, so I'm staying with her to protect her."

Kain spoke up, saying, "I agree. If we stick together, we have a better chance of surviving if there's a battle going on."

"But, but...Anna," the sage said as he began panicking again, "My daughter's in that burning castle!"

"Then let's hurry up and get there," Cecil told the man, "If you know any spells that could help speed our journey, please feel free to cast them. Otherwise, we'd better start walking again."

"Alright, fine," Tellah said, "I'll try to remember a spell that might help while we walk then."

Onward they walked, quickening their pace at times, slowing it at others. An hour after Tellah stopped to ask about chocobos, three red shapes could be seen rising from behind the castle. These shapes reformed themselves into airships as they grew closer, airships known and feared around the world as the Red Wings of Baron.

"Don't move," Cecil ordered the others.

The travelers stopped in their tracks as the Red Wings flew by overhead. Cecil and Kain held their breath, while Tellah restrained himself from trying to fire off a spell at the retreating sky-vessels. When the airships disappeared over the mountains to the south, a collective sigh of relief was heard from the small group of travelers.

"Come on," Cecil shouted before taking off running in the direction of the castle, "We don't have any more time to lose. Standard procedure states that the Red Wings are only to leave once all resistance has been...suppressed. All that's left now should be the dead, the wounded, and anyone who hid during the attack."

"How do you know that?" Tellah yelled as he ran along behind Cecil.

"Because I was once their captain!" Cecil yelled back.

"What?"

"Less talking, more running," Kain told the two of them.

The dragoon came up from behind them riding on a chocobo. The young summoner sat in front of him on the bird's back as they rode bare back across the golden sands.

"Why do you get to ride the chocobo? I'm the one who needs it!" Tellah yelled at the dragoon.

"I'm the one who stayed behind to help Rydia," came the response, "If you start getting tired, either ask her to cast a healing spell on you or drink a potion."

The group of four ran off across the desert sand toward the castle of the land of Damcyan. Kain and Rydia rode atop the yellow chocobo, staying near Cecil and Tellah all the while. Tellah ran as fast as his old body could, which turned out to be about as quickly as the dark knight was running with all his armor still on. About thirty minutes later, they finally approached the staircase into the now-ruined castle of Damcyan.

"huff We're huff here," Cecil panted.

Kain and Rydia dismounted, and Rydia took a moment to release the bond of summoning that was on the chocobo. The bird faded from existence before their eyes as the two who had run all the way took a moment to catch their breath and drink a potion to mask the pain their bodies now felt.

"Let's go inside," Kain said when it appeared that Cecil and Tellah and recovered sufficiently.

"Yes," Tellah simply said.

The four ascended the stone stairs to the gate of the Damcyan Castle. The stone masonry was cracked and crumbling in places from the bombing. Fires still burned wherever there was wood, and the shafts of arrows stuck out of any and every place they managed to pierce. Bodies, both those of the slain and those of the wounded, lay everywhere in the courtyard. The crackling of fires and the cries and moaning of the dying were the only sounds to be heard in this ruin of death. The immense doors that led to the main portion of the castle were found to be shattered by the four travelers, shattered by the blast of the bombs and perhaps the onslaught of magic. All was laid waste here.

The four pushed aside the remains of the grand doors and stepped into the main halls of the castle. The inner parts of the castle were less demolished that the outside, but there were far more dead and dying people lying on the floor. Outside, all the bodies had been those of soldiers. Here on the inside, the bodies of soldiers mixed with those of civilians who had fought to protect their homes and the women and children who had tried to hide themselves away. No a one was spared, it seemed. The horrible stench of death filled the nostrils of Cecil and his companions.

Through the halls the group walked, at every turn finding even more evidence of the massacre the army of Baron had wrought. Up two flights of stairs they climbed, until finally the travelers came to the throne room of the castle. The floor was covered with bodies in this room, the bodies of soldiers who had died to protect their country as well as the bodies of the royal family. The body of a white haired who wore splendid robes in life lay on the throne, pierced through the heart with uncountable arrows. The most important body, though, was found in the middle of the room. It was the body of a dark haired young woman, dressed in a simple yellow dress that reached to her ankles. Numerous arrows were embedded in her chest as well.

"Anna?" a voice both confused and distraught said, "Anna!"

Tellah the sage ran over to the body of this fallen young woman. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone move out from behind a pillar. The sage turned to face this potential threat, grasping his staff with both hands so as to use it as a weapon. The person he had seen was a young man dressed in fine crimson clothing. A hat with a feather sticking out of it sat atop the man's head, and under his arm he carried a fine harp.

"You," Tellah said, his voice falling to a growl, "You're that bard!"

The sage rushed at the man, swinging his staff wildly at the bard. The bard dodged the crazed old man as best he could, but still ended up being struck several times by the blunt weapon.

"You...YOU SPOONY BARD!" Tellah cried out in absolute rage as he continued his attack.

"Wait!" the bard shrieked as he dodged more blows.

Off to the side, Cecil, Kain and Rydia stood watching the proceedings. They did not interfere since the bard did not seem dangerous, but the two knights had their weapons drawn none the less.

"Spoony? That's the stupidest curse I've ever heard someone use," Kain whispered to Cecil.

Cecil merely rolled his eyes at this comment. Rydia on the other hand gasped.

"What?" Cecil asked the girl.

"That word Mr. Tellah used. My mom told me to never ever say that word," Rydia replied.

"I guess it must be a horrible curse in some obscure language only mages use," Cecil said to Kain.

"ROT IN HELL!" the sage shouted at the bard, interrupting Cecil and Kain's conversation.

"P-P-Please listen," the bard uttered while being pounded by the sage.

"Shut up and die!" Tellah said in response to the bard's pleading.

"Forgive me!" the other man cried out while fleeing in terror from the enraged wizard.

Just then, a faint feminine voice saying, "Stop," could be heard coming from behind the combatants. Tellah froze in place at the sound of this voice, his staff hovering above the bard's head. The bard merely broke down crying.

"A...Anna," the sage said in astonishment as he knelt down beside his dying daughter, "You're still alive. Here, let me heal you."

"No, father," the young woman said, "It's too late for me. Father, Edward is...the prince of Damcyan. Forgive me for running away...but I love Edward. I love you too, though, and I knew I couldn't...marry without your blessing. I was about to leave for home..."

"But then Baron's Red Wings, led by a man named Golbez, attacked us out of the blue," the now-injured bard finished for her, sitting down beside her as well.

"Who's this Golbez?" Cecil asked coldly, his anger rising. Whoever his successor was, he must be a bloodthirsty and evil man for attacking a kingdom like this. Even Mysidia did not compare to what had occurred this day.

"A monster of a man who wears pitch black armor like your own," Prince Edward replied, "He wields incredibly powerful magic. Beyond that, though, I have no idea."

"But why attack Damcyan?" asked the dark knight.

"The Crystal of Fire," the bard said, "They attacked us without warning with bombs and a flurry of arrows. The knights led by Golbez came later to take the crystal. Mother...father...both killed. I would be dead too, now, but Anna jumped in front of me and shielded me from the arrows."

"You loved him that much?" Tellah asked his daughter, incredulous.

"Forgive me...father. Edward...I...love...you..." came the dying words of Anna. The sage Tellah and Edward both bowed their heads as they looked down on the body of their loved one.

"Anna!" Edward choked out as he sobbed.

"Anna!!!" the sage howled at the mostly empty castle, "GOLBEZ! I'LL KILL YOU! YOU'LL DIE FOR THIS!!!"

"Anna, please don't leave me," the prince sobbed, "Wake up. Please. Anna!"

"Shut up, you weakling," Tellah snapped at the weeping prince, "Tears won't bring her back."

Tellah marched out of the throne room, throwing Cecil out of his way on the way out.

"Tellah, wait!" the dark knight called out to the retreating wizard.

"Revenge on Golbez is mine. Mine! Do you hear me? I don't need that girl, I don't need that arrogant dragoon, and I DON'T NEED YOU," the enraged wizard yelled at Cecil before storming off down the stairs and disappearing from sight.

Cecil and his companions stood there in shocked silence at the furious exit of the sage they had traveled with these past few days. All that could be heard now was the faint moaning of the dying and the weeping of the last descendant of the royal family of Damcyan.

"Anna..." Prince Edward said over and over as he wept over the body of his fallen beloved.

The young summoner, who had been quiet for the most part during this entire ordeal, stomped off to where Edward sat and looked him straight in the eye.

"Stop crying, you baby!" the Rydia ordered the prince, "You're a grownup. Grownups aren't supposed to cry! And you're not the only one who's lost somebody. My mom and all my friends died... but I'm not going to cry any more. No more!"

"I don't care," the grief-stricken prince told her, "Go away and leave me alone. I'm going to stay here with Anna and die beside her. Never...I'll never leave her side..."

Cecil, watching this entire display and hearing the prince's words, marched over and struck Edward upside the head.

"Oww..." the bard said, shrinking back before the dark knight.

"THAT...IS...ENOUGH!!!" Cecil shouted at the cringing prince, "You're now the rightful king of Damcyan, so grow up and act like it! You alone are left alive, so step up and lead. You owe it to your parents, to your people, and most of all to Anna."

Stepping back and collecting himself, Cecil continued in a calmer voice, "Your majesty, my name is Cecil, once a Dark Knight of Baron. My friends and I need your help."

"Wha?" Edward said, clearly not expecting this turnaround in the behavior of these people toward him.

"My friend is sick and dying of the desert fever in Kaipo. We need the Sand Ruby to save her," Cecil continued.

"...her...what is her name?" the bard said with a more steady voice.

"Rosa."

"Rosa...she is dear to you, just like Anna is to me," the prince said, now understanding the plight of these strangers, "The Sand Ruby can be found in the Antlion's nest in the east. I'll take you there myself in one of the hovercrafts. It's the least I can do. No one...should have to see their beloved die in their arms..."

"Thank you, your majesty," Cecil said, bowing as low as his armor would permit.

"Please...drop the 'your majesty' bit," Edward replied.

"Whatever you say...your majesty," Cecil replied with humor in his voice.

At this, Kain broke out laughing. In due time, Cecil joined him as well, and then Rydia and Edward. The laughter seemed out of place in these halls of the dead, but it lifted the moods of those left alive, and encouraged them to carry on in the journey called 'life.'

"Let's go," Cecil said, still chuckling.

"Very well," Edward replied.

The others walked on down the stairs ahead of him, and Edward took the time to say one last thing to his beloved Anna before following them down.

"Goodbye...Anna."


"Ah," Kain said as he gulped down some water, "This really hits the spot."

"I suppose it should," Edward replied from behind the steering wheel of the hovercraft, "After all, you all walked across a desert, up a castle, and then proceeded to scream your lungs out at me."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Spoony," Kain retorted. A few seconds later, the dragoon began to chuckle.

"Spoony...that old coot couldn't even make sense when he's cursing at someone," he thought out loud.

"Hmm...I suppose that incident was rather funny, now that I think about it," the bard said upon hearing Kain's comment, "Except for the 'people dying' part, that is."

Rydia gasped as she heard what the two grownups were talking about.

"That's a bad word, Mr. Kain," she scolded, as only a child can.

"Yeah, yeah," Kain said, "Whatever. Say, why don't you go talk to Cecil or something?"

"Mr. Cecil's practicing with his sword. He told me to wait up here."

"Great," Kain muttered, "Kain the Dragoon, brought down to the level of babysitter."

Apparently, he hadn't muttered it quietly enough, as Edward quipped, "You mean babysitting's not your job?"

"You looking to die, bard?"

"I wasn't the one joking about how Tellah reacted to seeing his daughter dying!" Edward retorted while glaring at the knight.

"Kain, stop it!" Cecil told his friend as he entered the room, "I'm sorry, but you can't kill Edward..."

Kain grumbled at this and glared, while Edward merely had a triumphant look on his face. Both of their expressions changed, however, as Cecil finished what he was saying.

"...At least not until we have the Sand Ruby."

"Hey, wait a second!" the bard exclaimed, shocked at the turnabout.

"Eyes on the road...er...shoals, your majesty," Cecil told the bard with mock politeness.

"What does everyone have against bards, anyway?" Edward grumbled darkly as he turned back to steering the hovercraft across the waters and toward the Antlion's Nest.


The dark knight, the dragoon, the bard, and the summoner stood before the drafty mouth of a cave. Behind them sat the large vehicle known as a 'hovercraft' that they had traveled to this place in. The mouth of the cave was rather large, round and dark, as though it were created by a giant earthworm. From within, the four travelers could hear the scuttling of large insects and the shrieks of goblins.

"This is it," the Edward told them, "The Antlion's Nest. Sorry about the monsters. We were about to mount an extermination expedition when the...attack came."

"It'll be fine," Cecil said after a pause, "I think we can deal with a few beasties. Rydia?"

Rydia closed her eyes and concentrated. A few moments later, a brilliant white globe of light appeared near her.

"Amazing," Edward said.

"This kid's just full of tricks," Kain said, placing his hand on Rydia's shoulder.

"Let's go," Cecil told them before stepping into the gloom of the cave.

When they had all stepped into the cave, Rydia amplified her spell, casting light on most of the room they were in. The Antlion's Nest was a large cave with a vaulted ceiling. A few rock columns could be seen here and there, but the immense room was mostly empty. The four adventurers walked further into the cave, paying no attention to the hisses of monsters coming from the dark corners of the caves. For close to an hour they walked, mostly uninterrupted. The few things that dared attack them were mostly goblins and a few overgrown bugs, all of which fell before Cecil's dark sword and Kain's lance. Edward chose to hang back from the battles to sing songs of war and victory to encourage his companions. When they were not battling, though, he tried to play as little as possible, so as not to attract any undue attention from the monsters.

Eventually, the group came across a door. Edward walked right up, opened it, and stepped within. Not wanting to be considered a coward, Kain followed the bard in. Cecil and Rydia brought up the rear. Inside, they found what seemed to be a break room of some sort. The walls were reinforced with wood so as to prevent a cave in. In the middle of the room were a table and some benches, one of which Edward was found sitting on when the others entered the room.

"What is this?" Cecil marveled as he walked into the unexpected room.

"A break room," Edward told him, "The workers who harvest the Sand Rubies use it when they're not on duty. I thought we could use a short rest before heading further down."

"So we're taking a break because the bard is tired?" Kain taunted.

Edward glared at him before replying, "That and there are some supplies in those cabinets over there that we might find useful."

"What's this?" Cecil said, holding up a glass sphere that he found in the cabinet Edward pointed them to, "The cabinet's full of these crystal balls."

"Those cast spells," Rydia said quietly, "My mom taught me about them a few weeks ago. A spell's already trapped inside, and you concentrate to release it."

"Like this?" Cecil said.

The dark knight closed his eyes and concentrated on the ball. The sphere grew colder in his hand as he focused. A yelp coming from Edward's direction brought him back to reality. Opening his eyes, he saw the wooden table and benches covered in a light frost. Edward, still sitting on the frozen bench, seemed to be struggling to get up since the frost had managed to partially cover his pants as well. Kain, on the other hand, was laughing at Edward's plight.

"It's not funny!" the bard whined.

"Umm...Did I do...that?" Cecil asked the others.

"Yes, you did," Edward snapped at the dark knight, "So help me get up."

"Alright, fine. Kain, grab a knife or something and help me."

The two knights set to work chipping the ice off of Edward. Rydia merely sat and watched the display, not lifting a finger to help. Finally, the ice was mostly chipped off, and Edward was once again able to stand.

"Let's not do that again," Edward told the two.

Before he could do anything, though, Rydia had already walked over to the cabinet and picked up a few more of the spheres.

"Wait a second," the now paranoid bard said as he began to dash over to her.

"It's all right," the girl replied calmly, "These ones are warp spells."

"How can you tell?" Edward asked her suspiciously.

"It's written right here," she responded, "See? T E L E P O R T. That's the name of the spell."

"Outdone by a kid," Cecil grumbled.

"Hey, it's not your fault. You don't have any magical training," Kain said, trying to cheer the man up, "Besides, it's not every day you get to see royalty frozen like that."

"Let's go," Edward said as he left the room in a huff.

The four travelers left the break room and descended further into the cave. As always, Edward let the others do the dirty work when monsters attacked while he hid in the shadows or sang a song to try to encourage everyone else. Eventually, they came to a rather large, rather bowl-like room. The ground sloped downward from the edges of the room, meeting in a sandy pit at the center.

"This is it," Edward told them, "The nest itself, where the Antlion lays its eggs. The Antlion's a tame creature, so I'll just run down there and grab the Sand Ruby."

Edward slid down the slope deftly, amazing Kain who was somewhat expecting the bard to trip and fall somewhere. Once he had reached the sand pit, the bard walked over to a slight depression in the ground and reached out to grab the prized Sand Ruby. Before he could get it, though, a monstrous shape emerged from a nearby mound of sand. The form was similar to that of an ant, but was almost as tall as a man. The beast swiped at Edward with its monstrous pincers, causing Edward to scream and run in terror.

"Kain, Rydia! Let's go!" Cecil ordered the other two before sliding down the slope himself.

Once he had reached the sand pit, Cecil drew his sword and charged at the aggressive Antlion. He swung down toward the beast, and tore at its carapace. The beast screamed in pain and responded by slashing down at the knight with both pincers. His shield managed to partially block the counterattack, but the pincers had managed to pierce an unprotected part of his sword arm. Cecil grabbed his arm and backed up, preparing to defend himself if need be.

"I thought you said it was tame?" Cecil shouted at the bard.

"I thought it was!" the bard yelled back, "It's never attacked a person like this before!"

Rydia had reached the sand pit by now, and prepared to cast a spell. Kain hadn't bothered to slide down, but rather swooped down and attacked the Antlion from the air with his spear. The weapon pierced the Antlion's shell, causing it once again to writhe in pain. The beast tried to counterattack like before, but the dragoon leaped out of the way of the pincers with ease.

"I'll take care of this," Kain told Cecil before jumping to attack again, "You worry about protecting Edward and Rydia."

"Blizzard!" Rydia called out as she completed her spell.

A wave of cold and ice assaulted the Antlion, partially covering it in frost and freezing parts of it in place. Kain then fell upon the partially immobilized beast, and thrust his spear deep into the Antlion's head. The beast began to thrash back and forth as best it could, trying with all its might to dislodge the spear. Cecil took this opportunity to break ranks and charge at the beast. He focused a small amount of life energy into his blade, and brought it down on the monster's neck while the beast was preoccupied with Kain. The energy-enhanced sword slid through the monster easily and detached its head from the rest of its body. The Antlion thrashed about a bit more before finally laying still.

Kain drew his spear out of the monster's head and carefully wiped it off on the sand. Cecil did likewise with his sword. Edward still hung back for a few moments, trying to assure himself that the beast was dead before heading back to the pit where the eggs were. He hesitantly reached in again, and withdrew what appeared to be a dull red stone about two inches in diameter.

"Here it is, the Sand Ruby," Edward said as he showed the stone to the two knights.

"Doesn't look like much, does it?" Cecil commented.

"No, it doesn't. It's really not a rock, but a hardened mass resulting from the fluids that the Antlion secretes while it lays its eggs," the bard told them.

"Too much information," Kain said, "But if it'll cure Rosa..."

"We'd better get going," Cecil said, the comment regarding Rosa jerking him back to the matter at hand, "Rydia, could you get us out of here."

Rydia didn't say anything, but rather walked over to the three adults and pulled out one of the glass globes she had found earlier. Flash of light engulfed the travelers and they were gone. Darkness once again ruled in what was once Antlion's Nest, a place that was now the Antlion's Tomb.
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