Another chapter is up and ready. Honestly, I can't really say I'm feeling too creative with chapter names at the moment. A small part of the beginning of this chapter depicts flashbacks taking place in Cecil's perspective.
I may not cover all of the scenes that are viewable for the first time a particular save point in the first half of the final dungeon in the After Years is used to restore characters' HP and MP by tent or cottage. But we'll see. I may not cover all the bosses from FFIV that show up in the final dungeon's first half, either. I'm sorry if this doesn't match the game, exactly.
I've got just the thing for how the party is going to move with as large of a group as they are. Cecil will be moving around in this chapter, because he's playable for the second half of the Crystals in the game, his turn gauge just slowly increases and his attacks do little damage to enemies until the confrontation with the Dark Knight.
I don't mean to repeat myself, but " indicates spoken word, ' represents thoughts, and - outside pre and post chapter author notes means change in point of view or lapse in time.
Disclaimer: I probably don't need to say it again, but Final Fantasy IV: The After Years was created by Square.
Unfamiliar Moon, Familiar Foes
Cecil was in what appeared to be a blackened void. First, the void dissipated and he was on the throne, addressing, his son, his wife and three more of his friends'Ceodore... Rosa, Cid, Edward, Kain... What were you... no... What was I doing...?'
The scene then shifted to where he was addressing a hooded man"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave, I'm a busy man."
"My apologies" spoke the man.
Cecil's thoughts drifted as the man left, albeit still in his possessed state'... Haven't I seen this man somewhere?'
The illusion shifted again to where Cecil had just given Edward a box'What have I just given him...?'
The scene shifted once more to where Cecil had been defeated by Bahamut and the Mysterious Girl. The girl addressed him"So this is the extent of a half-breed, no matter. You could prove useful."
'What are you doing?" thought Cecil as the world around him blackened once again.
"Cecil!" Rosa cried.
"Father!" Ceodore had spoken.
Ceodore and Rosa had appeared in front of his illusionary self temporarily, before vanishing. And the Paladin's form was replaced by that of a illusionary dark knight. Eventually, the Paladin seemed to stir.
Ceodore, Rosa and Kain had met up with the rest of their companions on the deck of the Lunar Whale, which is on its way to the encroaching moon. Cecil's body had been placed on a 'bed' in back of the Lunar Whale. Ceodore, Kain, Rosa and Rydia were currently tending to him. Porom had cast Raise on Cecil earlier, which proved less effective than they'd hoped, but still succeeded in somewhat reviving the Paladin.
"Cecil!" Rosa smiled in relief to see her husband open his eyes.
"He's regained his senses?" Edge, who was also watching over the inert Paladin, asked.
"Father!" Ceodore tried speaking to Cecil.
But something was still wrong. The Paladin was in good physical condition, but Cecil just sat up, glancing silently at the group in front of him. Ceodore panicked"Father!"
"Give it up" grunted Kain"The man before you is nothing but an empty shell. Porom informed your mother and I that even though she managed to heal his wounds and revive him, she got almost no response when she tried asking your father if he was all right."
"Father..." Ceodore was dejected.
"Tch! Just what did that girl do to him?" griped Edge.
Golbez, who stood a short distance to the left of his brother, spoke"We'll have to find some way to restore his mind. But for now, we must concentrate on retrieving the Crystals."
"I agree, this is too strange" said Rydia"I guess there's nothing more we can do for him, now..."
The group was silent until the Lunar Whale started shaking. Ceodore nearly stumbled forward, only for Kain to keep him on his feet. Cecil was still secure on his 'bed.' Rydia rushed to the 'cockpit' where Luca and Cid were steering the ship"What's going on?"
"The Moon's gravity is pulling us in!" grunted the older Engineer.
At the back of the ship, Cecil had opened his mouth to say something, but his voice wasn't apparently working properly, as he let out a small moan. What's more, his body trembled somewhat.
"Cecil!" Rosa took her husband's hand and held him.
The floor continued to shake as Cecil let out another moan"Auugh..."
"Cecil, what are you fighting against?" Kain addressed the Paladin before remembering that Cecil is currently unable to speak properly and can barely recognize the world around him.
The floor shook more violently as the Lunar Whale was pulled towards the moon's surface when it came to a crash-landing on a stone plateau. The group fell to the floor from the impact, briefly unconscious.
'Urgh, hope everyone's okay' thought Ceodore as he woke first and stood up, he was now at the back of the ship. His father was only a short distance in front of him, he had fallen onto his face.
Rosa and Kain had also gotten onto their feet and were checking their companions and healing minor injuries when it was required with White Magic. Golbez addressed Ceodore"I can but assume we're at our destination at the least."
"I guess... So now where do we go?" inquired the Baronan Prince.
"We will not know until we go outside" replied Golbez.
Edge, who had gone to check on his apprentices who were stationed on a previously-unknown lower deck with Harley, Luca, Leonora, Calca and Brina, approached"That was quite a shocker. Now what?"
"We don't have the luxury of time, so only five of us at best should go scout ahead and hopefully find some teleporters so that we could traverse the moon quickly" instructed Golbez.
"Then that's what we'll do. So who amongst us is going?" asked Edge.
"We'll split into teams, we'd have to move too slowly if we all go at the same time. Ideally, two or three. At least someone who can use White Magic and another person who can wield black magic should be in each group" said Kain, who was helping Cecil onto his feet.
Ceodore shrugged"I could use White Magic, but its still a bit weak compared to mother's. I will go with the active group."
"And if we're lucky and find a teleportation device, we can use those to switch out our group members whenever someone gets too tired. I hope there are, for we've no clue what this moon's like" said Golbez, thoughtfully"Ceodore, I will go with you."
"Count me in" chimed Rosa.
Rydia beamed"Take me, too. You'll need the Eidolons. Besides, if King Leviathan, Queen Ashura and Bahamut are on this moon, I'm the only one who can reach out to them."
Kain walked over to Ceodore"It would be best if I add to your numbers as well."
"So the five of you are going?" asked Yang, who had gathered into the same area with Palom, Porom, Cid and Luca.
"Yes. For backup team members, Tsukinowa, Izayoi, Leonora, Palom, Porom, Luca and Edge should do fine. Cecil... Well, I don't know if he can fight in his condition" shrugged Kain"And it can't hurt to have you and your daughter along if needed, Yang."
"We would be honored to assist" nodded the Fabulian king.
"The backup team should follow at a distance from the others, after all, we've no idea what to expect" pointed Rosa"I made sure to retrieve Cecil's sword for him before we came here. Cecil, I don't know if you're able to understand me right now, but could you accompany us? We won't force you to fight in your condition, but I'd like to have you close by me and Ceodore."
The Paladin slowly nodded, then walked over to stand near Yang. Rosa noticed a slight hesitation in the motions that Cecil was making with his feet, but didn't comment and handed the sword, which she picked up from the throne room while she was packing, over. The Paladin took hold of the king sword and sheathed it. Kain assumed by that response that Cecil could still recognize friend from foe, despite his condition.
"Okay then, the primary team will head out, now. The secondary team will get ready and follow" said Rosa.
Ceodore's group stepped outside the Lunar Whale. Not too far to their left is what appeared to be a teleportation device. Golbez went to investigate it"Hm. The moon seems to have teleportation devices after all."
"I wonder how many of those we'll find" mussed Rosa.
"We won't know until we look" said Kain, leading the way ahead. Meanwhile, Yang's group were assembling and readying themselves to help their allies when needed and walked only a short distance behind them.
Some Eurokytes (sorry if I misspelled the name of that particular monster) ambushed the group, prompting them to spread out. Kain easily dispatched one with his jump attack while Ceodore struggled with another one before finishing it with some help from Rosa.
Golbez zapped the remaining monsters with Blizzaga before turning to his allies"It would seem that monsters infest this moon as well. We should proceed with caution."
"You're right" Rydia shrugged.
The group of five walked until they came to what looked like a cave. Kain looked around"This moon appears to be different from the one the Lunarians came from..."
"It seems to be so" Golbez walked ahead.
Ceodore and the others followed the Lunarian inside, coming to what looked like the Lunar Subterranean from Golbez and the other Lunarians' moon. Golbez pondered for a moment"This could just be a coincidence, but it looks much like the passageways that led to the Lunarians' inner sanctum."
"Shouldn't be too hard to find our way around, then" muttered Rosa, leading the group onward.
They proceeded deeper inside the familiar-looking but different passageways. Two Dark Sages and a Amazon sword wielder intercepted them.
"Quake!" Golbez attacked the monsters, only to be countered by second level black magic from the dark sages. Rosa healed Golbez while Ceodore and Kain took down the two Dark Sages and engaged the Amazon in battle. Rosa fired an arrow to distract the monster, enabling the two front-line fighters to finish it.
"Monsters, typical" muttered Kain.
"Let's hope there aren't too many" shrugged Rosa.
They reached a large cavern on the third basement of the underground passageways. An odd-looking orange crystal stood ahead of them. Golbez paused'What's this doing here? Its aura seems different than the Dark Crystals...'
A flash of light emitted for a moment as the crystal seemed to rise and shatter. A familiar-looking humanoid with snake-like arms appeared.
"Baigen?" asked Rosa, astonished.
"That crystal must somehow had been able to revive him" Golbez readied Thundaga and cast It on Baigen's main body. The monster reacted with reflect, then cast a strong Ice Spell on the group.
Ceodore and Kain cross-slashed the monster, which countered by attacking with his snake-like arms. Rydia summoned Titan to penetrate the Reflect spell, staggering the monster long enough for Ceodore to stab it in the chest.
As Baigen's body faded once more, Golbez blasted the 'snakes' to end the battle with Thundaga. Ceodore shrugged as he sheathed his weapon"What's with that monster?"
"That crystal had the ability to resurrect a fallen enemy..." Rosa said, shocked.
Cecil's group caught up. Yang addressed the White Mage"Is everything all right?"
"We ran into some monsters, and encountered an old foe from our past" muttered Golbez"This moon must contain crystals that retain some image of a previously slain monster."
"How strange" muttered Yang.
"If we're all still okay, let's move on a little further before we rest" said Rosa.
"Let's stay close for now" said Yang.
The two groups walked down the next few passageways. Ursula addressed Ceodore, who was just in front"Your father still hasn't recovered fully, huh?"
"Yeah, I hope he gets better" Ceodore mussed, glancing at his father, who was silently listening to the conversation and following the joined group as best he can in his pseudo-comatose condition.
"... Say, you changed since we met. The Ceodore I know was so unsure of himself, lacking confidence in some ways" said the Fabulian princess.
Ceodore shrugged"I learned it from Kain, and others who my father traveled with, seventeen years ago."
Ursula paused before saying"I was hoping, kind of, that you'd figure it out for yourself. My father did, too, come to think of it."
Ceodore wasn't sure how to respond to this, but kept silent as he followed his companions deeper within the sub-terrain. Another crystal awaited, Rosa paused as she felt a familiar presence"Those monsters from the tower of Zot..."
"Barbariccia's minions have been resurrected as well?" frowned Golbez as what looked like three women, one tall, one short, and the other tiny emerged from the crystal"The Magus Sisters..."
"We can't all fight at once, we'd accidentally injure someone" Rydia stepped forward, summoning Mist to attack the Magus Sisters.
Sandy countered this with a jab attack with her spear. Mindy cast Reflect on Cindy, who leapt up and attempted to body-slam Ceodore, who dodged and slashed the monster In retaliation.
Edge darted at Mindy and slashed, only for the small monster to dodge and retaliate with a slash of her own, driving Edge back. Golbez cast Thundaga on Sandy, while Ceodore, Kain and Rosa ganged up on Cindy.
Fed-up with the constant attacks, the Magus Sisters backed off and unleashed their delta attack by having a Firaga spell reflected off Cindy onto the group while Mindy attacked Rosa with a sword slash. Ceodore healed his mother while Kain jumped and slammed Cindy with his feet before attacking with his lance. Rosa shot an arrow at Mindy, driving her back.
"Right, time to finish this. Ceodore, with me" Kain readied his lance.
Ceodore followed suit, readying his blade. The two darted at Sandy, swinging their blades into a Cross Slash, decimating the tall Magus Sister. Rosa shot Cindy with another arrow and held back long enough for Edge to slice the middle-sized enemy with his blade, staggering her. Rydia helped finish off the Magus Sisters by summoning Titan and unleashing Gaia's Wrath. The Magus Sisters faded into thin air.
"Those sisters... My father once faced them in the Tower of Zot" mussed Ceodore.
"If Baigen and the Magus Sisters had been reincarnated by these crystals, I wouldn't doubt that the Archfiends would be too far ahead..." Golbez commented.
Rosa and Ceodore helped administer Ethers to their group before continuing on. Behind Ceodre's group, Luca addressed Leonora"Um. Leonora, right?"
"Yes, what's up?" asked the Epopt.
"Do you... do you like Palom?" inquired the dwarf princess.
Leonora was flustered"Ah... well... I like Palom, but not in that particular way if you're implying it. He's been teaching me black magic."
"Good... That's a weight of my shoulders" said Luca.
Palom heard them and shrugged'Girls are so scary at times.'
The two groups came to another long corridor, going down and around a ledge until they climbed down a set of stairs. Another orange crystal lay before them. Golbez and Cecil tensed as they felt a familiar presence. Several zombies began to emerge.
"Firaga!" Rydia blasted the monsters, just as a familiar robed figure emerged. The crystal shattered as it did.
"Scarmiglione" Golbez muttered, seeing the Earth Archfiend appear. Kain and Ceodore intercepted the monster with a quick slash from their blades while Rydia provided cover with Firaga.
The Archfiend of Earth barely withstood the attack and transformed into its monstrous true form. Undeterred, Ceodore attacked Scarmiglione head on, only to get countered with a claw swipe. Kain jump-attacked while Golbez shot another Firaga at Scarmiglione. Rosa healed Ceodore, while the latter cast protect on himself, Rosa and Rydia. The green-haired Summoner prepared to summon Ifrit.
The Earth Archfiend let loose a spew of poison, which Rosa and Ceodore quickly countered with Esuna. Kain attacked the Archfiend again and barely dodged a counterattack. Rydia drew forth magic and summoned Ifrit, who razed Scarmiglione with Hellfire. Golbez followed it up with Firaga.
Succumbing to the pressure of the attacks and slowly regaining his sentence just before disintegrating"Master... Golbez. Though as hideous as I was, you were the only one who came for me..."
"I hope you rest in peace for good, this time" spoke Golbez.
"The other elemental archfiends can't be far behind..." remarked Kain.
"Hm. Its impossible to tell him in here, but we'd best find a spot to camp for the night, we're already getting weary from all the walking" said Golbez.
Rosa nodded, then led the group on. The next cavern had a bluish hue, which they glanced at as they traveled to a narrow passageway, making sure to keep an eye out for monsters.
A small area with a magical barrier around it caught their attention. Kain took note of it"This may be a good spot to rest for a while."
"I'll make dinner while you guys set up a Cottage" instructed Rosa, reaching into her pack for some fruit and fish she had packed. Rydia volunteered to help with the campfire while Caodore, Kain and Golbez got to work setting up a cottage.
Their other teammates who formed the second team approached and set up a couple tents for themselves. Tsukinowa felt a little fidgety near Porom, but focused on getting his tent set up. Izayoi took notice and addressed her green-clad teammate"You all right?"
"Yeah" shrugged the wind ninja.
Porom went over to the campfire to help Rosa and Rydia with the cooking. Soon, the group was eating some fish and fruit, making small talk as they did. Cecil ate his portion a bit slowly, barely acknowledging Rosa and the others. Ceodore and Kain sent occasional fervent glances at the Paladin, hoping that he'll recover from his deteriorated state.
"Shame we can't tell time while we're inside a cave, I bet the stars look beautiful" shrugged Edge,
"Could always check, not that it'll do any good. I just saw a teleporter nearby. I think that's what Golbez was talking about, earlier before we entered the cave" said Rydia, gesturing to a square panel.
The group finished and went into the tents and cottages to rest for a bit. Kain, Yang and Edge took first watch, just in case. If the supposed resurrection of their past enemies were of any indication, they knew to expect more once they were done resting and ready to move on.
Sorry for the long wait. I'll probably split the sub terrene segment into another chapter or two before moving on to the depths, since this turned out to be a long chapter. Oh, and I hope I was being accurate with Cecil's condition, I tried to have him be somewhat independent, but still barely more than an empty shell.
Please feel free to review.