Here's the second to last chapter, this one should be pretty epic, though there is quite a bit of talking involved in between the first, second and final forms of the last boss. Most of the dialogue here matches the game, so I apologize if its redundant. I don't know how to put them into my own words, but please bear with me.
Disclaimer: All standard disclaimers apply, FFIV: The After Years was created by Square.
The Secret of the Crystals-Part II: The Planet Eater
The group rested up and headed downstairs, first checking their items. Cecil noted that some of the potions and ethers are going bad and threw them out. Rosa inspected the elixirs and hi-Ethers to be safe.
"Are we prepared?" asked Kain.
"We are, just making sure we have enough items. Hopefully, we won't have to fight" said Rosa.
The group continued to trek downward until they came to a large room at the bottom of the stairs. A strange, grayish mechanism awaited them at the end of the chamber, much to their surprise.
Kain looked around"We appear to have reached the bottom."
Cecil glanced at the structure before them, a tingling sensation rang through his head"Something is inside here, I just know it."
Ceodore was surprised as he received the same sensation his father just had"Is this... The leader of the Maenads!?"
Rydia glanced at a light gray spot near the bottom of the mechanism"I have a hunch."
"What is it?" The Dragoon inquired.
Rydia channeled magic power to summon Bahamut, who unleashed a Megaflare at the core. The core shook violently from the Eidolon's attack.
"Whatever it is, we'll just have to break through that thing" said Cecil, noticing that the core did nothing to negate Rydia's summoning.
Ceodore and Kain drew their weapons and darted forward, tearing at the core. Cecil pitched in, the three of them piercing through the outer 'shell.' Eventually, the core turned a bluish white.
Cecil stepped back"That must be some kind of device."
The 'Core' shook and retaliated by casting Drain on Ceodore and Kain. Rosa healed her two allies, while Rydia summoned Bahamut to blast the Core with Megaflare. Ceodore and Kain drove their blades into the core with a Cross Slash, cracking it.
The core began to glow brightly, and the entire chamber lit up so much, the group had to cover their eyes. When the light dissipated, the core was gone. In its place stood a small, bluish humanoid.
Kain glanced at the humanoid"Finally, the one responsible for it all!"
"That came from inside" Ceodore gasped.
Rosa felt something tingling within her mind and put a hand on her head for a moment"I... I can hear something!"
Cecil gasped"Its trying to talk to me... Directly within my mind!"
A deep, smooth voice spoke telepathically within their minds"Let me try this... So you may understand my words."
"So we can understand what?" Rosa was puzzled.
Cecil was similarly surprised"Who are you?"
The humanoid replied"As you may have noticed, I am the keeper of the Crystals. You seem to see the crystals as embodiments of wisdom, but that is not their sole function. Certainly, the Crystals have granted you the tools you needed to grow and advance as a civilization... But the Crystals are more than that. They record and store everything within... The process and final result of every evolution that ever takes place."
"What is it that you're after?" Cecil asked the Humanoid.
Ceodore, Rydia, Kain and Rosa were surprised'The crystals store all that!?'
The humanoid seemed unfazed by Cecil's question, but responded"Would you understand if I told you that I am in the midst of an
experiment involving the future evolution of life? That was the reason why I created the Crystals. The Crystals I sent to your planet are no exception. Now, the time has come to harvest them. I had sent a force of Maenads to your planet to handle the duty."
"Maenads... You mean those girls!?" Ceodore asked.
The humanoid nodded"The Maenads are my latest experiment. Created from the data stored within my countless number of crystals."
"So why is this moon on a crash course for our planet?" inquired the Paladin.
The humanoid sounded regretful as he replied"I'm sorry, but your time is over. I fear that you have not achieved enough on this planet to satisfy my needs. I cannot allow the universe to be overrun by inferior species that fail to evolve to their fullest potential. Hence the reason why this moon has not stopped..."
"W-what?" Cecil was shocked.
"You... You cannot do that!" exclaimed Ceodore.
Kain's blood boiled with rage"You're going to collide them together!?"
"P-please wait!" Rosa desperately tried to reason with the humanoid.
The humanoid was indifferent to the group's outrage for the impending destruction of their planet, speaking with no remorse"You are all a part of the process... the output of the evolutionary plan conceived by the Crystals I created. In other words, this is all my work... The Crystals, the Maneads, and this new moon. This is why I am called the Creator!"
"So much for diplomacy" Cecil muttered.
Kain leapt and landed his feet on the Creator, knocking him back. Ceodore rushed forward and attacked the blue humanoid with a horizontal slash. Kain followed up with a jab of his lance. The Creator retaliated, paralyzing the two. Rosa healed the two men, while Cecil rushed forward to attack the humanoid with a vertical slash. Rydia summoned Titan, which staggered the Creator with Gaia's Rage.
The Creator smoothly cast Reflect and paralyzed Cecil with another spell. While Ceodore healed his father with Esuna, Rydia summoned Leviathan, seemingly drowning the Creator with Tsunami.
"Is it over?" Rosa asked, watching their enemy collapse.
"That was almost too easy" remarked Kain.
After a minute, however, the Creator got back up, seemingly unperturbed by the party's recent attack on him. The group was surprised, none of the enemies they'd fought before could come back to life after being defeated like that.
"What's with this guy?" Ceodore wondered.
The Creator spoke with the same calm voice as before"Long ago... I was born on a blue planet, one much like your own. We prospered more than we could ever sustain... until we consumed our very planet down to its core. By the time a small group of experts noticed, it was already too late to reverse the trend. So we abandoned our
home planet and embarked on a space-wide search for another planet to live..."
"Huh?" Rydia was surprised to hear the humanoid's past.
'So, like us and the Lunarians, this man was born on another planet' realized Cecil.
The Creator continued to reveal his past to the group"Months and years passed, and generations lived and died aboard our fleet as we voyaged. Eventually, our ability to survive slowly deteriorated to nothing... stunted by the artificial environment we lived in. The result is this new moon you see... the remains of our space fleet. I am the last
survivor."
Rydia, Rosa and Cecil felt a twinge of sympathy for the Creator for a moment. The Lunarians had also come from another planet, which was now ruined, before settling on their moon.
"What kind of civilization should we have built? How should we have evolved instead? In search of an answer, I embarked on a lifetime of experimentation, creating the Crystals to record all of my proceedings. After I made them, I sent them out to countless planets... any place that had the potential to sustain life" the Creator finished his backstory.
Rosa attempted again to reason with the Creator"We can only imagine how you must've felt, with your race ending up the way it did. But surely, there were other ways you could've coped?"
Suddenly, the creator groaned as he felt a dreadful sensation through his head and his body began to shake"Ngh...! I am sorry...but my craft cannot hold out any longer... The chemical reactions... that were controlled by my outer frame...! They are changing...me... My brain has started to... transform...!"
Before the group's eyes, the humanoid transformed into a taller, slender figure with long hair. The Creator cast Meteor, which Rosa quickly healed with Curaja. Kain used his jump attack, while Cecil and Ceodore attacked their enemy together with a strong Vibra Plus.
The Creator paralyzed Kain and aimed a Flare spell at Rosa. Rydia used a Hi-Potion on the White Mage before going for a Megaflare by summoning Bahamut. The Creator retaliated with another Meteor and began to prepare a Flare spell at Ceodore. The prince barely withstood the attack and healed himself with Curaga.
"Mega Flare!" Rydia tried again, Bahamut's attack staggered the Creator. Kain jumped and plunged downward with his lance while Cecil and Ceodore cross slashed the Creator. The force of the attacks staggered the slender being, which retaliated with Meteor.
Rosa healed the party and addressed Rydia"Let's use our combined spell."
"Right" Rydia readied herself.
The two women of the party concentrated, while Cecil, Kain and Ceodore attacked their opponent. The Creator paralyzed Kain, who had to be healed by an Esuna from Cecil, while Ceodore powered up with his latent Lunarian power and slashed twice at the Creator, staggering the slender humanoid.
"Holy Burst!" Rosa and Rydia's attack spell slammed the Creator. Ceodore charged forward and stabbed the slender being.
The Creator's body began to disintegrate and vanish from the pressure of the group's attacks. But just as it seemed like it was over, the Creator's voice was heard"Tell me... How... How were we supposed to live!?"
Before the group's eyes, the Creator's body transformed once again. This time, a grotesquely twisted monster emerged. The upper body vaguely resembled a Maenad, but without the dress, and it had wings on its shoulders. The lower half consisted of various monster parts, with organic cords at its bottom.
"What the?" Kain readied himself.
"Its going to swallow us!" Rydia cried, seeing the monster draw closer.
The monster rammed into the group, rendering them unconscious. However, the crystals began to glow, sending a wave of conciousnesses to alert the group's companions and the people still on the Blue Planet.
At Baron Castle, the Baronian soldiers had regained their humanity, and were defending the citizens who had taken shelter with them from monsters. A brief flash of light destroys the monsters.
"Ah!" one of the citizens gasped.
"King Cecil!" one of the soldiers exclaimed, a feeling of dread washing over him.
"What of King Cecil?" wondered one of the other citizens. The people then saw a brief glimpse of light and began to pray for their king.
At Rosa's house, Rosa's mother turned when she felt a sudden pang of dread in her heart"Rosa!? Ceodore!"
At Mount Ordeals, Cecil and Golbez's father's voice boomed"Oh mighty Dragoon... You have overcome your lonely trials... I know you are capable of this."
At Rydia's house in Mist, one of the villagers rushed to speak to the elder"Elder! Its Rydia!"
"What about her?" inquired the elder figure. A flash of light showed them what was happening for a moment, and the people immediately began to pray.
The crystals rose out of Rosa's bag and began to glow above the group, sending a magic image to the heroes waiting outside. Near the Lunar Whale, the rest of the party stood, sending their prayers and words of encouragement to their friends.
("Get... Home!") Calca said.
("stay alive!") murmured Brina.
"We're all waiting for you... So is everyone else" said Cid.
"Are you kidding me!? Come on, we need you to get back in there!" Edge cried to the image of the party shown to them.
Edward prayed"The will of the people shall be your courage!"
"If you give up, then all is lost!" cried Gekkou.
Harley bowed her head"Everyone back home is fighting for you!"
"We believe in you!" chimed Izayoi.
Leonora stuttered, but managed to pray"C-can you hear us!? Our feelings!"
"Please! Stand back up!" pleaded Luca.
"Don't give up, you bums!" Palom exclaimed.
Porom knelt down onto her knees in prayer"Please.. may my prayers reach you!"
"You promised me! You said you'd stop the moon...and we'd all come back home together!" cried Tsukinowa.
Ursula: All my heart... I put into my fist!
Yang bowed his head"You must believe! I know you can live through this ordeal!"
Zangetsu prayed"Please! Fight until the end for me!"
Back at the Moon's core, the crystals glowed brightly and revived the party through the people's prayers. Ceodore got back up, first"Its true! We're not alone, here!"
"Our lives are tied by the deepest of bonds. No one may tear them asunder!" said Cecil, getting back up to join his son.
Kain stood his ground as he, too woke"We are still alive. All of us!"
Rydia stood to join her companions"We have the Eidolons, and we have each other!"
Rosa joined the group as they faced down the monster"Yes. This is for Ceodore's future... Cecil's future... The future of everyone on our planet!"
The eight crystals shone with blue and red lights respectively and returned to Rosa's bag. The Creator's monstrous form had a wave of darkness shrouding it. Cecil glanced at Rosa"We'll need the crystals."
"Right" The White mage got out two of the blue-colored crystals and handed them to Cecil and Ceodore. The Paladin and his son held the crystals aloft, their radiant light shone upon the Creator's body, dispelling the wave of darkness.
The Creator gasped as he struggled to maintain ahold of his sanity, which was rapidly deteriorating"T-this crystal? What is it!?"
The Wave of darkness completely vanished, halting the monstrosity in its place. The Creator spoke"Stop me now!"
Kain and Ceodore rushed forward with a cross slash, staggering the Creator. Rydia pitched in by summoning Bahamut to attack with Megaflare. The Creator countered by casting Meteor. Rosa healed the party, while the Creator called forth a powerful explosion, blasting the party. Rosa kept the group on their feet, while Cecil stood by to administer an Elixir or a Hi-Ether if needed.
The Creator cast a weak Firaga, then sent out an illusion of itself to strike the group from behind. Rosa cast Curaja before having to use an Elixir on herself. Cecil struck the Creator with his blade, while Ceodore and Kain attacked it with Double Jump.
The Creator staggered, and seemed to implode for a moment. The monstrosity unleashed Megaflare, prompting Rosa to cast another Curaja and join with Ceodore to cast Divine Heal.
"Flare!" Rydia struck the Creator with a strong black magic spell. The Creator used another Explode spell and readied another Divide attack. Rosa healed the group again, while Kain jump-attacked the Creator. Cecil and Ceodore dashed forward and slashed at the monster.
The Creator cast another strong Megaflare, prompting Ceodore and Rosa to work together to keep their allies alive. Rydia summoned Bahamut to counterattack with his own Megaflare. Cecil slashed at the Creator and jumped backwards, just as it used another Explode attack.
"Curaja!" Rosa healed the group again, while Rydia summoned Bahamut to attack the Creator. Ceodore and Kain braced themselves and darted forward with a Cross Slash, The Creator attacked again with Divide, which Rosa barely managed to reverse with her white magic. Cecil used an Elixir on Rosa before attacking the Creator with his own blade.
Rydia felt her own magic power weaken as she summoned Bahamut again, so she stopped to administer an elixir onto herself. Cecil covered for Rydia by attacking the Creator, which unleashed Megaflare and Firaga. Rosa, Kain and Ceodore took a moment to heal themselves and their allies before counterattacking.
"Blizzaga!" Rydia staggered the Creator, prompting him to retaliate with Firaga. Cecil healed Rydia with a Hi-Potion, while Kain attacked the monster again with a jump attack. Rosa snuck in a quick Holy Spell at the Creator, while Ceodore and Cecil darted at the Creator with multiple sword strikes.
The Creator cast Meteor once more, prompting Rosa to use Curaja, again. However, the monstrosity imploded again. Seeing this as a chance to end a tiresome battle, Cecil and Ceodore attacked rapidly again, staggering the Creator. Kain leapt as high as he could and brought his lance downward on the Creator's monster form's upper body.
The Creator seemed to begin to fade as he gasped"The destruction has already begun... My destruction... And that of this moon... You must run!"
The room began to shake once again. Kain gasped as the floor began to crack"The moon is starting to fall apart!"
"Retreat!" Cecil cried, leading the group back up the stairs. The rest of the group began to follow.
The entirety of the upper room shook as the five ran as fast as they could, barely reaching the crystal chamber before the Creator materialized and attacked. Turning, Kain struck at the monstrosity. Cecil turned and braced himself as the Creator unleashed multiple fireballs as it appeared to be dying.
Kain and Ceodore struck with a Cross slash, prompting the Creator to back off. The group dashed back through the chamber where they had found their world's crystals and to the room where the small Maenad still waited.
"You still here?" Ceodore asked the small girl.
The girl nodded"I waited as you ordered..."
Suddenly, the Creator appeared again, exploding and sending more fireballs at the group. Rydia shielded the little girl from a fireball, while Cecil slashed at the Creator. Rosa healed Rydia and shot an arrow at the monster.
Just then, one of the Maenads from earlier appeared"We will stop them!" The Creator had little chance to retaliate as the Maenad zapped him with Thundaga.
The group took this as an opportunity to run on ahead. Rydia stopped to address the little girl"Come with us!"
"Understood" The small Maenad followed Rydia, Cecil, Ceodore, Rosa and Kain back up another floor. They barely got more than a few feet away before the Creator intercepted them, again. The Maenad that tried to slow him down had been killed.
Three more Maenads appeared to assist the group.
"Watch that child" one of the Maenads requested, hitting the Creator with Blizzaga.
"That child is us" said another Maenad.
"The child is our future..." chimed the other Maenad. The two cast defensive spells on the party.
Ceodore was puzzled"Why are you helping us?"
"Just go" replied the Maenad, going to join her two comrades.
Ceodore and the rest of his group rushed onward while the Maenads held off the semi-deranged Creator. The little Maenad sensed her comrades dying to fight off their Creator, but kept up with Cecil's group as Rydia requested.
Another Maenad waited for them, sensing the deaths of her fellow Maenads. The creator again caught up with the group, having disposed the three other Maenads through explosions.
"Creator, how could you?" spoke the Maenad, casting Flare on the monstrosity to stagger him.
Cecil and his group rushed further ahead, having no time to thank the Maenad for her surprise assistance. As they reached the chamber where they recovered Bahamut, the Maenads' creator appeared once again.
Kain, Cecil and Ceodore turned to meet it head on and attacked. The Creator staggered and sent more fireballs at the group. The young Maenad stepped back, ready to cast a spell if necessary.
Just then, the last of the 'adult' Maenads appeared, speaking with the Creator"You're our father!" With that, she cast Meteor to break the Creator out of his berserk state. The Maenad collapsed due to the amount of life Energy the meteor spell required.
However, the Creator seemed to have regained his sanity"Thank... Thank you... Thank you all..." With those last words, The Creator collapsed and began to fade away for good.
The room started to shake, prompting the group of six to continue running up the nearest staircase. Ceodore gasped"I've never run for this long, before."
"We're running out of time. Everyone, hold hands" instructed Rosa, feeling that the room was beginning to shake violently.
Cecil, Rosa, Rydia, Ceodore, Kain and the young Maenad linked hands. Rosa focused some magic power and cast Teleport to warp their entire group out of the collapsing moon's interior. The spell took them back aboveground, near the Lunar Whale.
"Thank goodness, you're all okay" said Ursula. She and the others had been waiting outside the Lunar Whale the whole time.
"Who's with you?" Izayoi glanced at the young Maenad.
"We'll talk later, right now we have to get off of the moon" replied Cecil.
The group entered the Lunar Whale and went straight for the bridge. Cid and Luca started up the Lunar Whale's engines, and they flew away as fast as they could.
The Creator's moon appeared to fade and move away as the party set course back to their home planet. Kain remarked"Perhaps he grew a conscious at these last moments."
"Now that we know the crystals' true purpose? What could this mean?" mussed Cecil.
"Depends on how we use them, doesn't it?" asked Ceodore.
Rosa gazed at the moon a bit longer"I wonder if he decided to spare us, in the end..."
The blue planet came into view quickly as they made to land near Baron to rest.
Well, I'm pretty much satisfied with how this chapter turned out. Well, maybe not the chapter title, but I hope you enjoyed it.
At any rate, I'll get the epilogue up as soon as I can. Please feel free to review.