Disclaimer- I don't own FFTA
Author's note- I will be sort of crossing over with FF9
He was falling through the sky.
He could see the ground below him. He was rushing up to meet it, and when he hit it, it would all be over. However, his fear of hitting the ground was nothing compared to the absolute aloneness he felt. He was sad because he knew that when he hit the ground, there would no one to go with him.
Marche awoke with a start. It was almost morning, and the clan was camped at Ulei River. He shook his head to rid himself of the dream, and cursed himself for falling asleep on his watch. He looked over the clan to make sure nobody had gotten attacked. His eyes were drawn to the spot where a certain flame-haired fencer had fallen asleep that night. Although he refused to admit it to himself, his feelings for Ritz had been growing. He still stubbornly refused to admit that he loved her.
And then he froze.
Ritz was gone.
Falling out of the tree he was in, he scrambled over to where she had lain for the night. Where Ritz had been at dusk, a note had taken her place at dawn. It read, I have your woman, Marche. Come and get her if you can!
-Gukko
Marche felt a fierce rage well up inside of him. He threw back his head and yelled a to the high heavens for taking his beloved away from him.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Later…Montblanc struggled to keep up as his friend crashed through the undergrowth, destroying anything in his way with his sword, Excalibur2.
"Hold on, kupo." Montblanc panted as he tried to keep up. "You don't even know where Gukko is!"
"Oh yes I do." Marche growled, and increased his pace.
Elsewhere…Gukko was sat on a nearby tree stump. At the place where Marche defeated him last, he waited. Thinking back, he remembered the day the news had came to him. Hejaat was dead, struck down by Marche himself when they came to their base. It had been a secret from their clan that they loved each other. Even though they knew it could never last, they were happy. And then the Redwings came, forcing his clan into committing acts of evil at their whim, thereby setting in motion the chain of events that led to Hejaat's death and his defeat.
He remembered that once he had the news, he had run nonstop to the ruined base. His eyes took in the destruction before he spotted her torn and broken body. As he cradled the limp body to his chest, tears flowing down his face, he swore that he would get Marche for this.
Except he hadn't been strong enough. When the time came for him to engage Marche, he had been utterly defeated. And now he was back, to have his revenge, to cause Marche as much pain as possible. Either he killed Marche to have his revenge, or he died, thereby reuniting him with Hejaat.
Either way.
Later…They arrived at Salikawood that night. The place where Marche had defeated Gukko last, he knew it was also the place Gukko planned to defeat him today.
"COME OUT GUKKO!" Marche yelled. Gukko stepped out from behind a tree, smirking.
"I knew you would find me." He said simply. Marche angrily brandished his giant sword.
"Enough talk! Where's Ritz!"
"Now, now, I can't just let you have her. I have to be a conventional bad guy and make you fight for her." Gukko said as he drew twin swords from their sheaths.
"Wait a minute…" Marche narrowed his eyes at Gukko's weapons. It was Ayuivr Red and Blue.
"You dare soil Goal's weapons with your hands!" Marche yelled. "What does it matter?" Gukko asked, "He's dead anyway."
With a yell of rage, Marche charged Gukko.
The dance with death had begun.
Their swords banged and clashed as each sought to pierce their opponent's defense. Something was wrong, though. In the last fight, Marche had beaten Gukko easily. However, this time Marche was hardly quick enough to parry Gukko's powerful blows.
Gukko smirked, "I've been training in foreign lands, learning styles and techniques so powerful they could destroy you in a second. I am much more powerful than you now. For example, taste this!" Gukko raised his swords up and yelled, "Omnislash!" Immediately, Marche was pummeled and cut beyond all belief. Wounded in a dozen places, he fell to his knees, coughing blood.
Gukko grinned, "See? I have you right where I want you, all started for the sake of your girlfriend." He sneered, "Well Ritz, what do you think of your beloved Marche now?" He pulled Ritz out from behind a tree. Completely naked, Ritz was bloody and bruised. Her face, torso, and especially her waist and thighs had been repeatedly thrashed and whipped. Through the haze of blood in his eyes, he saw a single tear glistening on her cheek.
Gukko rambled on, "I had some fun with her, you know, while waiting for you to come. Boy, I tell you-"
"SHUT UP!" Marche yelled. Back on his feet, with his sword in his hands, his eyes shown red with battle light.
"YOU HURT HER!" Gukko smirked, "And you're going to do wha-"
"JUST SHUT UP!" he yelled. "I LOVE HER AND YOU HURT HER!" Ritz started at this, causing more tears to flow.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Marche screamed, an unearthly scream, as a light began to form around his body. He felt infused with power, and his weapon… the Excalibur2 was no longer itself. Instead it felt more powerful, better balanced. It was, it was…
The Ultima Weapon.
Now Gukko was scared.
"DIE!" Marche yelled, rushing him again. This time it was Gukko who was hard pressed to defend himself. Marche's blade seemed to be everywhere at once. Gukko fell back to gain himself some time.
Marche stopped. Raising his blade, he called upon all of his power.
"GRAND ULTIMA!"
The world shuddered at the power released. Gukko had one second to be shocked before he was disintegrated. At the very last second, before he died though, he smiled sadly. Ritz's bonds were disintegrated as well. The spell did not stop, however, it kept going, with Marche's torn body in the middle. Ritz gathered her courage, and rushed into the hellstorm of energy to save her Marche.
I'm going to die. He thought. The spell was draining his energy at an enormous rate. He didn't have any regrets, however. He had saved the one he loved. He would go to his rest in peace.
"Marche!"
His eyes snapped open. He knew that voice. All of a sudden his vision was obscured by a large quantity of red hair, as Ritz lunged at him. He felt her lips on his, kissing him, giving him strength. She pulled away and said the words he longed to hear.
"I love you, Marche."
He wept openly now. Tears coursing down his face, he whispered, "I love you to, Ritz." The knowledge that she loved him back gave him the strength to pull together the last shreds of power and halt the spell. As his tired body hit the ground, he took of his sweater, and wrapped her in it, giving her warmth. Then he collapsed.
Smiling, Ritz lay down on her hero's chest and went to sleep also, as they waited for the rest of the clan to come.
(This would be a good time to start playing that song that goes "If I could fall, into the sky, etc. etc.)
He was falling into the sky again.
But this time, he wasn't alone.
Grabbing Ritz's hand in his, they rushed up to meet the ground together, no longer afraid.
Because they had each other.