Start Date: March 31, 2022
Windwillow
Final Fantasy IV
Chapter Sixteen
Golbez has all eight of the Earth's crystals, and plans to head to the moon. Whether it is to tame the God of Eidolons or some other nefarious plan, the fact remains that he must be stopped.
The King of Baron was truly the Eidolon Odin; after a long and exhausting battle, Cecil bested him and earned both his service and the holy sword Excalibur. Now, the party heads to Mysidia, hoping to find a way to the moon...
Scene One
Far from the cold stares he received when he first returned to Mysidia, Cecil was stared at with respect. Its townspeople looked upon him as a hero now, and as he stepped up to the Elder's home he looked back to see a happy crowd.
The Elder met him at the doorway.
"It is good to see you again!" he said jubilantly. "I see..."
His face dropped.
"Where are Palom and Porom...?"
Cecil lowered his head.
"To save me, they petrified themselves. They repose now in Baron Castle, frozen in cruel captivity. I am truly sorry..."
The Elder sighed and shook his head.
"If that was their wish, so be it. I will do what I can. Now... I take it you've come for a good reason, yes?"
Cecil nodded.
"I seek a path to the moon."
With a smirk, the Elder turned to face the stairs behind him.
"Come to the Tower of Worship... It is just up here."
Cecil and the party followed the Elder, going up several sets of staircases before reaching a large silver door. The Elder slowly pushed it open and gestured to enter, and thus they did. What awaited them was a cabal of mages, both black and white, kneeling before an open window.
"It is as I suspected," said the Elder with a soft smile. "The time of the prophecy has come..."
Edge cocked his head.
"What kinda prophecy?"
From his belt Cecil withdrew the Mythgraven Blade. He slid it open and handed it to the Elder, who touched it lightly, with reverance. The Elder drew the sword and looked carefully at the blade.
"One born of a dragon," he murmured, "bearing darkness and light, shall rise to the heavens over a still land. The moon's light eternal brings a promise to earth with bounty and grace..."
Cecil nodded.
"We know now that the path lays here, in Mysidia. I ask of you to guide us."
The Elder took the sword and turned, sheathing it. He stepped forward to a pedestal, passing by the throng of priests that lined the way. Softly he placed the Mythgraven Blade upon its resting place, and bowed his head in prayer.
"The time is now!" he said. "All of you, lend your prayers!"
Kneeling, the priests began to chant softly.
"Open the dragon's maw and climb the stairs of the divine!"
He knelt at the altar, and placed his hands together. Rosa and Rydia did the same, though Edge simply crossed his arms. He'd never been much for religion. Cecil too bowed his head, kneeling in prayer.
None of them could see it, of course, but atop Mt. Ordeals the holy shrine shook with a great peal of thunder. The light converged from the prayers of the Mysidians and flew into the air, hovering above the dragon's maw in a shroud of dark clouds.
A brilliant thunderbolt pierced the sky, and drove down into the sea. At first nothing happened, but slowly the tower began to rumble. Or rather, all of Mysidia trembled. Its townspeople looked in awe at the darkened skies, and as a silent flash appeared they shielded their eyes.
Loosing a bolt of soundless light, the prayers sundered the seas and kicked up a storm. Slowly, a large form appeared, rising from the ocean. It was a titanic ship that resembled a whale more than a vessel, great and awesome on an unbelievable scale.
The Elder rose slowly, and turned to Cecil. He bowed his head.
"The Lunar Whale awaits you," he murmured. "Pray, take its helm and ascend to the holy land!"
Scene Two
Edge gawked at the ship.
"The damn thing is HUGE! Someone built that?! That thing is a SHIP?!"
Rydia cocked her head.
"But, how can it reach the moon? There is no sea to the stars."
The Elder shook his head.
"Ancient lore states that a crystal powers it, and that the Whale itself originated from the moon. If you touch that holy relic, the Whale will ascend and bring you to the moon!"
Edge folded his arms.
"I don't buy it. How do we control it?! Who's supposed to pilot that thing?!"
The Elder grinned.
"There is a man who bore the Mythgraven Blade, one who severed his ties to the darkness and clutched tight the light. Were he to beckon, I've no doubt that the ship will sail through the stars!"
Cecil paused. Certainly he had grasped the sword of prophecy, but the idea that he somehow held a bond to the Whale seemed audacious. Still he gazed as the Lunar Whale softly glided to the ground outside of Mysidia he could sense a calling. The Whale beckoned.
He sighed, and grasped Excalibur. Drawing it, he looked at his reflection and saw behind him the image of a smile. He turned in shock, but no one was there. Whoever called to him, it asked him kindly to take hold and move forward.
Cecil smiled softly and sheathed his sword. He turned to his companions and nodded. They looked at him with awe and respect, and thus they departed to the Lunar Whale.
To the moon!
Scene Three
The inside of the Lunar Whale was remarkable. Its walls and halls reminded Cecil of the Tower of Babil, silver steel shining with multicolored gems. Its doors opened automatically just as in the Tower, and as he stepped through the gate to the bridge his eyes widened.
Its bridge was huge, with several seats and consoles all around it. In its center was a glowing silver crystal. He turned his eyes to the side and examined it, finding entire living quarters there large enough to house the lot of them, running water and electricity included. The entire structure was a castle unto itself.
Rydia's mouth was agape, and Rosa's eyes twinkled. Edge looked around in awe but tried to seem unimpressed (which wasn't working). Cecil stepped forward and examined the console at the front of the ship.
"These buttons and levers are a mystery to me... Cid would have a heart attack if he saw it. I can hardly believe this is actually a ship..."
He turned to the crystal, and looked back at the party.
"Fasten yourselves," he said. "I want to see this craft fly... Safely, naturally."
The party stepped up to the seats and sat down, and belts automatically fastened around their waists and across their shoulders. Hand rests popped up, and the chairs leaned back. Cecil stepped up to the crystal, and gazed into its beauty.
"I suppose it's time..." he murmured. "Let's see this whale sail."
Slowly he extended his hand, and touched it. With that a great rumbling resounded, and he staggered to his seat and belted in. The ship began to tremble, but a light feeling signaled that they had left the ground.
"Not so bad..." muttered Edge. "And here I thought... AGHH!"
Edge's words were stopped as the Whale zoomed upwards. The party ground in their seats, a great pressure pushing them downwards. This continued for several minutes, until the rumbling stopped and the seats disengaged. Edge staggered to his feet, and looked towards the windows.
"What's out there? I wanna see..."
He stepped slowly to the window, peered out and jumped back with a cry. Edge fell to his seat, skittering backwards in fear.
"I swear," sighed Rydia. "Masculinity's taken a nosedive these days."
Edge turned his head towards her, a shocked look in his eyes. He pointed at the window.
"Y-you... gotta see it..." he gasped. "I can see the Earth!"
Rydia dashed over to the window and looked out, and she shrieked. Rosa and Cecil hurried to see outside and what they saw shook them. From deep below the craggy surface, they saw a vibrant orb of blue and green. They saw the oceans and saw the plains, and they saw the Tower of Babil jutting into the sky like a spear.
Everyone froze solid. The planet upon which they were born now lay beneath them, an alien world awaiting them outside. They had become extraterrestrials!
Cecil stepped back.
"Dear God!" he gasped. "It's beautiful...!"
Cecil rushed over to the console and examined the it carefully.
"The controls indicate that there's air outside... It's reading it out on some sort of tablet..."
He read carefully. The message was clear, with all the words stating that they had reached the moon. There were strange coordinates and symbols, but what caught his attention were two words: "Welcome Back."
Scene Four
Edge swallowed hard. He slapped himself and stopped shaking.
"Guess that means it's time to head out."
Rosa nodded slowly. Rydia loosed a haggard breath, and Cecil guided the party towards the place they had entered. He pressed a button and the door opened to reveal a barren landscape. Craters pocked its sodden ground and mountains stood just as on Earth. There was no water, though.
The party stepped out onto the moon's surface. There was indeed air, and they could smell an acrid stench throughout the atmosphere. Before them was nothing but crags, dirt, and dust.
Cecil's hand clutched Excalibur. It shook, but stopped as he stepped forward. There was a sense of remembrance here, like he had entered a familiar town. The party exited the ship and gazed around, and Rydia pointed at a structure in the distance.
"Look!" she gasped. "It's like a huge crystal...!"
Indeed, what they saw was a castle made of crystalline glory. Its spires, its gates, everything was covered with crystals and shining against the light of the Earth. Cecil swallowed hard.
"That seems a good place to look..." he murmured. "It looks like we'll have to pass through a few caves along the way..."
They proceeded on through the barren land and into the caves, entering a new atmosphere that stunned them. The cavern's rock was black as obsidian, with gleaming crystals providing light to their eyes.
"Amazing!" breathed Rosa as she ran her hand along the wall. "This is truly another world..."
Edge drew his daggers.
"What the HELL is that?!"
Everyone turned to find a strange, gelatinous creature float towards them. It was massive, with an amorphous frame that seemed to ooze and bubble with no sense of reason. Slowly several tentacles emerged, and a toothy maw tore open with fangs bared. Its skin morphed into a scaly tecture with veins pulsing through its body.
"What a horrible sight to behold!" gasped Rydia as she brandished her whip.
Cecil drew Excalibur.
"And it isn't alone!"
From behind them came a group of bizarre humanoids lumbering towards them. They looked made of a glittering mud, like dolls with claws and fangs. Another form slithered forward, one that they recognized: a yellow, jiggling flan.
Rosa swept her hands in a wide motion, clasping her hands together. A circular barrier, like a magic circle, surrounded the party.
"I don't know about those... abominations... but only magic can stop the flan!"
Rydia nodded and lashed her whip.
"Cecil! Edge! Can you handle the others?"
Edge swallowed hard.
"Uh... maybe?"
Scene Five
At first, no one moved. Not the monsters, not the party. Slowly and steadily Edge inched closer to the mudmen as Cecil did with the beholder, before charging into battle. Edge's daggers dug through the mudmen, cleanly slicing through them, but the sod from their skin soiled his clothes.
"Ugh!" choked Edge. "Gross!"
Rydia's whip lashed through some mudmen and she pivoted, running close to the wall as she charged a spell. She hopped up and pushed off from the wall, lashing her weapon and mincing the mudmen as she formed a green ball of energy in her off hand.
"The flan's next!" she shouted.
With a flick of her wrist, the plasma orb flew into the flan and blew it apart. But it quickly reformed and spat a ball of acid. She skidded to a halt, narrowly dodging the attack, and slammed her hand to the ground.
"Ifrit!"
The ground cracked open and the fiery ogre emerged from its depths. With a wide swath it bathed the mudmen in flame and incinerated them, then belched a fireball that enveloped the flan and dissolved it.
Rosa swiped her hands in wide arcs, blades of holy energy dicing through her foes. Each swing left motes of white light that speckled the air, looking much like fireflies. One particularly large monster loomed, baring its fangs.
"Oh, no you don't!" she cried.
She swiftly drew her bow.
"You still have weak points!"
A light-tipped arrow flew from the bow and pierced the mudman through the skull. As it fell she shoved it back with a pressure wave that blew it into bile. She swiftly formed a magic circle and readied for another attack.
Edge continued to slash at the mudmen. As he struck the last the beholder loomed above him. He shouted in shock and swung, severing a tentacle.
"Get the hell away from me!"
He continued to slice, but the beholder's skin repelled him.
"D-dammit!" he yelled. "Someone help!"
As its maw opened wide, Cecil coated his sword in light and skewered it through its throat. Sliding on his heel he swung, severing its head and spattering goo on Edge's face.
"Oh, YUCK!"
Cecil bisected the final mudman, and the battle was over. He sheathed his sword and fell back onto the cavern wall.
"God, Almighty!" gasped Cecil. He slumped further down. "What the hell are those abominations?!"
Rosa began to heal his wounds.
"The moon's monsters are more terrifying than ours..."
Rydia belted her whip and sighed. She turned to Ifrit, and stuck her tongue out and smiled.
"Thanks, big guy!" she said with a wink. Ifrit nodded and vanished into a wreath of fire.
Edge wiped the gunk from his face in disgust.
"I do NOT wanna do that again..."
Cecil breathed heavily and rose to his feet.
"We still have a ways to go. Let's get going!"
Scene Six
After passing through several more caves (and fighting a horde of mudmen), the party finally reached their destination: the crystal palace. It was a marvel of construction, its bright light reflecting off the crystalline architecture. The rock around it was a mixture of black, white, and blue, and it looked much like jewelry.
"Whoo!" gasped Cecil. "We finally made it!"
Edge dusted the mud from his cloak.
"I need a new tailor! Dammit, I liked this outfit..."
Rydia put her hand on her hip and scoffed.
"Oh, deal with it. We're all scuffed up."
They entered the palace. There they passed through crystalline halls, with gleaming gems and a series of beautiful mirrors. As they reached a large chamber, they dropped to their seats in exhaustion.
"I can't go any further!" said Rosa.
Rydia nodded.
"We have to rest..."
As he staggered to his feet Cecil caught a glimpse in his eye. He drew his sword and swung, but it was stopped cold by a wave of pressure and he fell back. The source of the wave was an elderly man with a long white beard. He wore robes of blue and purple that seemed to flutter as he stepped towards the party.
Edge staggered to his feet, gripping his daggers.
"I ain't going down easy, old man!"
The old man waved his hand and a feeling of relief rushed through the party, their wounds mending and even their clothing restitching together. As they took stock of this, Cecil rose and looked carefully at the old man. He narrowed his eyes.
"And you are?" he asked.
With a soft smile, the old man gave a short bow.
"I am Fusoya, a Lunarian. Welcome to the Crystal Palace, denizens of the blue planet."
Edge sheathed his daggers.
"And what's a Lunarian?"
Fusoya extended his hand.
"Eons ago on a planet between Mars and Jupiter there was a planet in immenint danger. Before it was destroyed its people escaped on a great ship to Earth. We are those people."
Cecil clutched the old man's hand.
"Remarkable!" he murmured. "To think another race lived on the moon..."
Fusoya smiled.
"When we arrived another, less-evolved species was developing. We fashioned this moon to lay ourselves to rest and observe, until our races were equal. The Lunarians desire peaceful co-existence with humanity."
He lowered his hand and bowed his head.
"We desire it, save for one. He wished to take over Earth, razing its cities and purging its citizens, thus preparing us a world all our own..."
Rydia gasped.
"That's awful!"
Fusoya shook his head.
"I was able to quarantine him and force him to sleep. But his mind remains strong, and now that evil intent has reached your planet. He has extended his evil will to the Earth, seeking the crystals..."
Cecil paused.
"The man behind Golbez...?"
Fusoya nodded.
"His name is Zemus. He wishes to gather our power, in the form of crystals, and open the dimensional elevator. That is his plan."
Rydia cocked her head.
"So he ISN'T after Bahamut?"
Edge folded his arms.
"Then what's this elevator for?"
Fusoya sighed.
"To transport his creation, the Giant of Babil. It will erase all life from the blue planet's surface."
Cecil's face contorted in horror.
"NO!" screamed Rosa. "He can't!"
Fusoya shook his head.
"But he is an aberration. Most Lunarians wish to wait for your kind to evolve, so that we may live side by side. We now slumber beneath this palace to await such a day..."
Rydia sighed.
"That's great, but we sort of have a problem on our hands..."
Cecil bowed his head.
"And the ship that carried the Lunarians... Was it the Lunar Whale?"
Fusoya nodded.
"One of many," he said. "The one you came here in was made by my brother KluYa. He was always fascinated by humanity, and thus he descended to Earth. There he introduced many things: magic, technology... The art of magic itself is of Lunarian origin. He simply introduced it to your people."
Rosa sighed.
"Sounds like a great man. What became of him?"
Fusoya smiled.
"He fathered two children. I can see his eyes in yours, my boy..."
Cecil froze.
"That voice at Mt. Ordeals... it called me its son! Was it...?!"
Fusoya nodded.
"KluYa gifted you his light, so as to stop Zemus's plan. We must hurry to Earth and stop Golbez!"
Edge cocked his head.
"How do we do that?"
His face ashen, Fusoya cracked a smile.
"I alone can pierce his barrier. I shall accompany you to the blue planet."
Rosa gasped.
"Really?! Thank you!"
Fusoya frowned.
"But we have one more thing to do here. We need his help."
Rydia paused, confused.
"Someone here on the moon can help us?"
Her face contorted in shock.
"Y-you can't mean...!"
Fusoya nodded.
"The God of Eidolons beckons. We need Bahamut's power."