Final Fantasy Story Chapter 17

The Betrayal

By Nathan Jones

As the smoke cleared, Edgar, Celes, Locke, and Shadow all found themselves in a strange sort of hallway.

“Where do you suppose we are?” Locke suddenly asked.

“No clue.” Edgar replied, “Yet it is definitely certain that we haven’t been here before. The group wandered the hallway for a few minutes before coming across a statue of a rather vicious looking monster.

“Yikes what is that thing?” Celes asked as she examined the statue.

“That,” Edgar stated, “is a statue of a mythical beast called the Chimera. With the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and wings of an eagle, and the tail of a serpent, it has been told that beasts such as this one cause quite a lot of trouble back in ancient times.”

“Hmm.” Locke said, “a freak of nature eh?”

“A freak of nature that breathes fire from its mouth.” Edgar added.

“Oh.” Locke said, kicking the statue, “Good thing this thing isn’t real, otherwise we’d be in one very bad situation.”

As if hearing Locke’s words, the statue suddenly began to shake. Bits and pieces of it began falling down upon the warriors like rain, and each of the warriors ran for cover. When the smoke cleared, there was a hideous roar, and each of the warriors looked up in horror as they realized that the “statue” had just come to life.

“Everyone get ready!” Edgar shouted over the monster’s roar, “Look’s like we gotta fight on our hands!”

The beast leapt from its pedestal and darted straight for Shadow. The ninja was too fast for the beast, and quickly darted to the left avoiding getting smashed by the creature’s rather large head. Celes saw an opportunity, and leapt up into the air drawing her sword.

“Hiiiiiiiiyah!” she cried as she came down upon the creature’s back at full force.

Her blade found its target, and sunk deep into the monster’s flesh. The Chimera howled in pain and did its best to throw Celes from its back. It tossed and turned but to no avail. While the beast continued to circle round and round the hall, Locke saw an opportunity of his own and drew his sword Illumina from its scabbard. He darted at the creature at full force, aiming the tip of his blade directly at one of the creatures flaring eyes. He too found his target, and the sword plunged deep into the pupil of the massive beast. The Chimera howled in pain once more and stood on its hind legs sending Celes crashing to the ground. Edgar caught her before she hit the tiled floor, and put her back on her feet. Celes was weaponless now, for her sword still lay buried in the monster’s spine.

“Shadow cover me!” Edgar yelled across the hall.

With that, he too darted forward and plunged his own sword in the Chimera’s remaining eye. Blinded and howling in pain, the beast began to thrash wildly at anything around it. One of its paws hit Locke in his side, and a claw from the paw sliced a menacing hole in Locke’s hip. Locke grabbed his bleeding wound and motioned for Shadow to finish the beast off. Shadow drew his kitana, and darted at the creature with a speed unseen by any of the warriors. Back and forth he darted, each time cutting a new wound into the creature’s torso. Finally, the ninja leapt into the air and came down upon the beast slicing the back of its neck. The creature stood there stunned for a moment, before its head slowly slid away from its body. It collapsed onto the floor in front of the astonished warriors, and its body fell lifeless to the ground. Edgar stood in amazement.

“By the Gods!” he exclaimed, “That was truly one impressive show of skill dear friend.”

“It was nothing.” Shadow replied. “Come. We are almost there.”

The warriors once again set off for the top of the tower, and as they ran alongside each other, they knew in their hearts that victory would soon be theirs.

************

Relm still lay there on the table, dreaming of days long since passed. As she slept, she dreamed she was in a far away land. Far away from Kefka and his evil, she was living a life of happiness and joy with her two children. Her house, a small cottage on the far side of a lake, was as peaceful a getaway as anyone could ask for. In the backyard, her children played while her husband hunted in the woods for the night’s meal.

“Good morning my love.” She heard a voice say. She turned around to see a man holding a freshly killed bird and dripping with sweat. “Oh Edgar.” She cried, “You really mustn’t work yourself so hard over a simple bird.”

Although she didn’t know it, she was smiling as she dreamt of this moment, where she and Edgar lived that life of total happiness. She had always had a thing for the young king, yet she knew none of her fantasies would ever come true, save inside her dreams. Edgar walked over to her and kissed her passionately, all the while removing his armor piece by piece.

“Edgar!” she laughed, “Think of the children!”

“They are busy playing.” Edgar said as he kissed her again, “Besides. There is nothing in this world I love more than ravishing a woman as beautiful as yourself.”

Relm laughed with joy at the king’s words, and returned a kiss of her own. She began to feel short of breath however and violently started to cough.

“Relm!” she heard Edgar shout, “Relm what’s wrong?!”

She reached for her love with an outstretched hand, but suddenly found herself drifting further and further away. She cried out to him, but to no avail. She cried out again and again, and suddenly found herself clawing at the restraints on her wrists. She was fully awake now, and as she realized it had been only a dream, she laid her head back onto the table crying.

“Edgar.” She whispered as tears ran down her face, “Please get here soon.”

*************

Kefka sat on his throne pondering his next move. As he thought about all he had accomplished in the short time he had been back on the planet, he smiled with sinister satisfaction. He had risen from the ashes of destruction to become the new Lord of Darkness. Along with Fosoya’s help, he had managed to create a world of chaos even more unruly than that of his previous attempt six years ago. It was true that he had faced many obstacles along the way, no doubt suffering losses of his own. However, he had done something no man had ever accomplished. He had collected the eight pieces of the legendary Crystal of Light. With their power, he had shaped a world where evil reigned supreme. Gone were the old days of simply destroying villages with beams of light. Now, Kefka stood upon the ruin of a world once clothed in peace.

“We must destroy anything that gets in the way of our ideals.” Emperor Geshtal had told him, “There must be no one to stand against us.”

Those words had stayed with Kefka ever since his rebirth upon the planet, and he frowned at the memory of his emperor slain. He had interrogated that soldier back at camp, and the soldier had told Kefka something Kefka never would have imagined. It was time now, to tie up all the loose ends. It was time, to claim the world he had worked so hard to create, for himself. Kefka quickly slipped into his newly sown robe. The elegant fabric seemed to sparkle with magic as he slowly tied the sash around his waist. His sword, a gift from Emperor Geshtal lay in the corner of his chambers. As he picked it up, he slid his long fingers across the blade and chuckled at the thought of putting the blade to King Edgar’s throat.

“Yes Edgar,” he said to himself, “This sword shall be my tool of vengeance. With this sword, I shall make you beg for mercy after what you did to me all those years ago.”

With that Kefka put on the last piece of armor underneath his robe and strode over to the door of his chambers. Quietly, he poked his head out and looked down the hall. No one was in sight

“Excellent.” He said to himself.

He picked up his pace as he slinked through the great hall to the dungeon. Over on the wall he spotted the mechanism for the secret door to the underground lab. He turned the mechanism twice to the left, and four times to the right. The trigger made a muffled click as the door slowly opened. Into the lab he crept. Finally he spotted who he was looking for. Fosoya was bent over a table examining ancient text and scrolls on various spells.

“Hello Fosoya.” Kefka called.

“Oh my!” Fosoya yelled as he jumped back. “By the Gods you scared me Lord Kefka! Please don’t do that again.”

“I am truly sorry friend.” Kefka replied, “I just came down to see how everything is going.”

“Everything is going according to plan Lord Kefka.” Fosoya answered. “The necessary preparations have been made. Now all we have to do is wait for Relm’s friends to arrive. “

“Tell me old friend,” Kefka interrupted, “what must be done in order for the sacrifice to work? Are there any spells that need to be chanted, or can I just slit their throats when they arrive?”

“Well my lord,” Fosoya explained, “all one needs to do for this type of sacrifice is execute a special ritual involving in this case, Relm’s companions.”

“And what sort of ritual would that be?” Kefka asked with interest.

“Well my lord,” Fosoya said, “the ritual requires a bit of timing for it to work properly. So what I suggest, is that you should get the group of intruders together and kill them all at once. Or, you can go with option number two.”

“Which is?” Kefka asked impatiently. “

Kill them painfully my lord.” Fosoya replied. “One by one.”

“Excellent!” Kefka exclaimed. “Now tell me friend,” Kekfa said. “Have you completed the tasks I set before you?”

“I have Lord Kefka.” Fosoya said proudly. “It seems you are no longer in need of my services. Now what about that reward you promised me?”

“Oh dear, dear friend.” Kefka said with an evil grin. “You shall have your reward.”

With that Kefka slowly removed his sword from its scabbard and, with an evil laugh, plunged it deep into Fosoya’s gut.

“Agggghhhhh!” Fosoya screamed. “Kefka you despicable son of a bitch! What is the meaning of this?!”

“Hahah!” Kefka laughed, “Did you really think I would share this kind of power with a wretch like you? I knew it was you who killed Geshtal back at Narshe. I was only biding my time until I finally killed you. I needed you Fosoya, to assist me in the preparations for the moment where I would seize the incredible power I have worked so hard to obtain. It looks to me, as if those preparations are complete. So, as you said yourself dear friend,” Kefka hissed, “I am no longer in need of your services.” Kefka pulled Fosoya up to his face and plunged the blade deeper into Fosoya’s body. “May you rot down in this dungeon with your precious books and trinkets.” He hissed.

With a sickening crunch, Kefka twisted the blade back and forth and let Fosoya’s lifeless body fall to the ground.

“Now Relm,” Kefka said as he wiped Fosoya’s blood from his sword, “It’s just you, me, and your precious friends!”

***********

Cyan and the others were running at full speed now, gaining ground with each passing second.

“I believe we are almost there.” Setzer shouted as he ran up ahead, “It should only be a matter of time before we reach the top.”

As the band of warriors ran up the seemingly endless flight of stairs, Gau suddenly yelled with joy. “Look!” he cried, “Its Edgar and the others!” Cyan, Setzer, ad all of the other warriors quickly realized Gau was right, and rejoiced as well.

“Edgar old friend!” he shouted to the king as he ran, “I see you have made it up here alive as well.”

Edgar, Celes, Locke, and Shadow all turned around to see Cyan and the others running towards them, and shouted with glee.

“Thank the gods you’re all ok!” Edgar exclaimed, “We had feared the worst.”

“Haha.” Cyan laughed as he embraced his friend, “It will take more than eight measly dragons to do us in.”

Each of the warriors embraced their companions and quickly brought each other up to speed on their accomplishments. Edgar told Cyan of his and his friends’ battle with the Chimera, as well as all the other trials they had faced within the tower.

“It is to be noted however,” the king put in, “that Relm is still being held prisoner. As much as I would like to stand here and reminisce, I think it’s if we all make our way to the top of the tower as quickly as possible. There’s no telling how much time Relm has left.”

The warriors all nodded in agreement, and quickly began their ascent up the next and final flight up stairs leading up to the top of Kefka’s tower. They were stopped short however, by the sound of a large blast, and a great winged beast fell from the ceiling on top of the unsuspecting group.

“Melkiah!” Edgar shouted, “Just in time!”

“Sssssshut your mouth filthy human.” The beast hissed, “Thisssssss is as far as you go.”

“I’d really love to stay and chat Melkiah, “Edgar shouted to the creature, “But we have to go save our friend. If it’s a fight you want, then bring it on you scaly son of a bitch!”

Edgar drew his sword and ran at full speed towards Melkiah. He didn’t get very far, for Melkiah swung his massive tail around his body hitting the king in the chest. Edgar flew against the stone wall, all the while clutching his father’s blade.

“Die you bastard!” Celes shouted, coming down upon Melkiah with the strength of a wild cat.

Her blade found the flesh of Melkiah’s right wing, and sliced the thin layer of skin to pieces. Melkiah howled in pain and counterattacked by grabbing the girl around the waist. He proceeded to crush the girl in his bare hand, and would have succeeded, had Locke not drawn his own blade and plunged it deep into the monster’s torso. Dropping Celes, and clutching his gaping wound, Melkiah tried to retreat up the stairs to the safety of a ledge. “Not so fast!’ Cyan cried out,

“Quadra Slice!” Once, twice, three times, then four, Cyan slashed the beast across its back, sending it rolling down the stairs like a barrel.

As the warriors all jumped out of the way to avoid getting knocked down with it, Sabin positioned himself for a blitz.

“Aura!” he screamed as he shot forth a bolt of white-hot flare.

The beam hit Melkiah directly in the chest, pinning him up against the wall. Sabin held the beast there with the beam, long enough for Edgar, Celes, Cyan, and Locke to plunge their swords into the creature’s unprotected abdomen. Blood shot forth from Melkiah’s mouth as the blades pierced his lungs and heart. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he hissed once more before his chin dropped to his chest. Edgar and the others pulled their swords out of Melkiah’s body, and the beast moved no more.

“That does it.” Edgar huffed, trying to catch his breath, “It’s just us, Fosoya, and Kefka now.”

Each of the warriors placed their hands upon their knees, and rested for but a moment before standing to move on.

“The final battle awaits us.” Cyan said proudly, “Let us finish this.”

Edgar looked upon each of his friends, and with a tear in his eye, nodded his head. “Yes.” He said aloud, “Let’s finish this once and for all.”


Chapter 18

Final Fantasy 6 Fanfic