Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Final Fantasy: The chronicles of Four! ❯ Meet Lich, a not so fiendish fiend! ( Chapter 14 )

Holy, so many reviews! This makes me happy! (opens mailbag) N2000, I guess now it IS a remake, since everyone thinks it is. Oops. Fuuraiken, BM can't do that or else there's nothing in it for him anymore! Jenni, yes, the party in Earth Cave is still going on. Meira, thank you for all the reviews! Now, I don't own any FF or 8-bit!

 

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Trying as hard as they could to rebuild the small town, Fighter, Black Belt, and Sabin were busy collecting their materials.

 

“Okay, so let me get this straight. All we have left are some broken boards, some twigs, leaves, and string?” Black Belt asked. Sabin nodded.

 

“And we're gonna build a huge, bustling city?” Fighter added. Sabin just smiled and nodded again. The three men looked at each other, then at the piles of rubble that used to be houses.

 

“Bring it on!” they all said, and began to work as hard as they could. Sabin was mending the broken boards as Black Belt propped them up and built supports with the twigs. After the boards were mended, Sabin began to build rooftops as Black Belt continued to make walls and supports for new houses.

 

“Hey, Sabin?” Black Belt asked after an hour of silence from Fighter. Sabin turned around.

 

“What's up, dude?” he asked, wiping some sweat off his head.

 

“Where's Fighter? I haven't heard from him since we started, and that scares me.” Black Belt said. Sabin pointed behind him to Fighter, who was busy getting tangled up with the string.

 

“Lay off, vile fiend!” he shrieked, trying to rip the string with his sword. But no matter how hard he tried, Fighter just made the situation worse. Black Belt and Sabin sighed as sweatdrops rolled down their heads.

 

“This is going to take a million years…” the two mumbled.

 

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Meanwhile, about 1000 miles away, our heroes had left the Crap Cave and now were walking across the barren wasteland that was the Melmond continent. No one had really spoken much, nor had any battles ensued.

 

“So… do you think Lich is going to smear us on the walls?” Thief asked, as the silence stabbed at him like a knife. Red Mage sighed.

 

“I wouldn't underestimate him. He's the fiend of Earth, and if he can do this to a continent, think of what he'll do to us.” Red Mage stated logically, “If the views of our surroundings are correct, Lich is much more powerful than the Vampire.” Black Mage spat on the ground.

 

“I think anyone is more powerful than that egomaniac.” Black Mage grumbled.

 

“But didn't the Vampire say he was the one who put the spell down?” White Mage asked, “I mean, what if Lich can't really do anything? What if he's already dead?” Red Mage took out the four lifeless orbs.

 

“WM, if that's true, then who stole the crystals of power and caused the orbs to fade off in the first place? And besides, BM has a point. The Vampire was an idiot. I doubt he'd be able to pull such a stunt on his own. Someone else is behind it.” Red Mage replied.

 

“Oh! Did you figure that out yourself? Well, DUH!” Black Mage scolded, throwing a rock at Red Mage, “Of COURSE someone else is behind it! We already established that from day 1, you nimrod! The question is, can we find this guy?” Thief twirled the old Earth Rod around, spraying the ground with more dust.

 

“Yeah, I mean, this rod looks a little old. How do we know it'll work? What if it snaps in half when we used it? Then we would've climbed down into the Earth Cave for no reason.” Thief said. Black Mage gave a harsh little laugh.

 

“Well, it's not like it'll take too long to get there. Those minions Sardine-face was worried about are all too busy doing Roller Disco to care if we destroy their leader. I sure didn't see them try to even stop us when we killed off the Vampire.” Black Mage stated, waving his arms dismissively. Thief stopped for a minute to think of what Black Mage just said.

 

“Hey, can we not say we killed the Vampire? The dude was already dead. And besides, he melted.” Thief corrected. Black Mage felt his veins throb with rage, and would've loved nothing more than to burn Thief. But he had more sense than that. He turned around sharply.

 

“Shut up, you.” Black Mage snapped. And for the rest of the journey back to the Earth Cave, no one said anything.

 

At long last, the group found the Earth Cave again. Not surprisingly, they also heard music, cheering, and talking going on too. The four stopped, wondering if it was a smart idea to go in as a beer bottle hit Black Mage square in the head.

 

“OW! Damn it, looks like they're still partying…” Black Mage mumbled, “Well, guess what? I'm sick of these retarded lesser beings not taking us seriously! I'm going in there!” With that, Black Mage stormed off. The other three looked at each other in disbelief, and then Thief ran to the entrance.

 

“BM, wait!! The Giants! They live there too! They might…” Thief started, but before he could walk inside, let alone say another word, heat, smoke, and the smell of burnt monster skin filled the air. Black Mage stalked out of the cave, wearing a triumphant grin.

 

“It's safe to go through.” He said darkly, “Oh, and I got the Giants too.” Thief shrugged as the four slowly entered the now deserted halls of what looked like Party Central. Skulls, burnt spiders and snakes, and broken disco balls littered the floor, making it hard to navigate. Thief swore he fell over the same monster twice.

 

“BM, did you have to kill everything?” White Mage asked, trying to feel her way around, “You could've left the disco lights so we could at least see where we're going.” It was true. The only real reason they'd had such a comfy journey before was because they could see. Black Mage kicked angrily, accidentally hitting Red Mage.

 

“Well, what did you want to do!? Were you really going to let evil live!?” Black Mage asked. White Mage narrowed her eyes.

 

“I let you live.” She said flatly, continuing down the dim corridor. Thief tried to follow along, and tripped over a skull, landing into Red Mage, who in turn bumped into Black Mage. Black Mage got up and glared at the two, his eyes gleaming red with fury. Thief and Red Mage hugged each other in fear.

 

“I've had it with your antics. WM isn't here to stop me, and your burning carcasses will serve as a lamp, so…” Black Mage was about to cast Fire2 when Thief and Red Mage ran away like two scared girls, “I knew that would get those idiots moving…” Black Mage shrugged and continued down where White Mage had gone, trying hard not to trip over anything. To his dismay, he'd fallen over three dead trolls, a broken disco ball, an empty soda bottle, and an empty snake skin before falling clumsily down the stairs.

 

“OW! Why I ought to…” Black Mage got up and dusted his robes angrily until he spotted his three friends looking around for any sign of life. They could hear music, but there was no talking. Not even the crunch of a chip being eaten was heard.

 

“Think they're planning to ambush us?” Thief asked, taking a step forward.

 

“I don't know… we'll have to find out.” Red Mage whispered, walking towards a closed room, “Everyone, get your weapons out.” As he instructed, everyone drew out their swords, hammers, and staves as Red Mage opened the door slowly. When no one said anything, he burst it opened and jumped inside with his sword at the ready. But he lowered it when he saw that no one was even in the room, save for a lone stereo that was still pumping out music.

 

“Well, this is a little odd.” White Mage stated, walking into the room, “Where is everyone? Black Mage, did you kill them all?” Black Mage just shrugged and strolled in, ignoring the bowl of chips he'd smashed.

 

“Looks like I did, but that's just less work for us.” Black Mage replied, “Besides, we're here to kill Lich, not to join in some demonic ritual party.” Just to further prove whatever point he was trying to make, Black Mage whacked at the last disco ball with his staff as though it were a pinata, smashing it to pieces. Then he walked back into the hall and down towards the stairs.

 

“Hey, he's got a point.” Thief chirped as he and Red Mage walked into the hall as well, “Hey! BM, wait for us!” White Mage just sighed tiredly as a drop of sweat appeared over her.

 

“The only “point” he has is the one he calls his head…” White Mage mumbled as she walked off after Thief and Red Mage. Within a few minutes, she was climbing down the stairs to reveal that Thief was using the Earth Rod to pick the seal on the locked door. She was about to say something when the door swung open, leaving the four a perfect view of a big, ugly, metal plate.

 

“Now what?” Black Mage asked, annoyed, “The door was one thing, but that piece of crap Sardine gave us won't move a metal plate.” Thief had to agree. The Earth Rod looked like it was going to shatter any moment. Even White Mage seemed a little less hopeful. Red Mage did the only thing that came to his mind. He grabbed the Earth Rod.

 

“Please, let this work. Rod, open the door and show us where Lich is!!” Red Mage roared, and thrust the rod into the metal plate. To everyone's surprise, the plate shattered along with the rod, sending bits of metal and rust soaring through the air. Thief was hit in the head with a piece of metal as Black and White Mage ducked for cover. Red Mage stayed as the magic of the Earth Rod continued to dissolve whatever was left of the plate.

 

“Whoa… that's what I call magic.” Black Mage gasped, coming out of a corner he'd been hiding in, “Maybe I underestimated that old fart after all…” White Mage helped Thief up, and Red Mage wiped some sweat off of his head.

 

“Well, this might be it. Lich must be down there. Let's go.” Red Mage said, and the four warriors headed down the stairs underneath the plate. It grew steadily darker as the group reached the floor, and they could smell rotting debris everywhere. Black Mage grabbed a large stick and set fire on it to serve as a light. He waved it slowly so everyone could see where they were.

 

“Spooky…” Thief said, a hint of excitement in his voice, “Yup, if I were a rotting dead guy, I'd definitely hang out here.” Black Mage laughed.

 

“If we've never been here, how do you know what he looks like?” Black Mage asked. Thief held up Red Mage's Brady Games guide.

 

“It says so, page 140. Lich is an undead creature. Look, it even has a picture.” Thief handed the book to Black Mage. He gave White Mage the torch and took a look.

 

“Ugh… I see people are still making these adventure guides using 8-bit pictures…” Black Mage mumbled, “That is so back in Chaos's time. Don't they even think to try the new 32-bits coming out these days?” Red Mage looked at the horrible rendition of Lich.

 

“I admit it's ugly, but I'd rather deal with an 8-bit Lich than what we could possibly learn to know as our new graves.” He stated, then began to walk down another hallway. Black Mage closed the guide, and followed with Thief and White Mage right behind. Soon, they'd made their way to the last floor. Thankfully there was some light coming from the lone room down the narrow corridor, as their torch had blown out from the cold. Thief walked cautiously to the door.

 

“Here it is… the crystal…” he whispered, “Soon we can revive it and light up our first orb…” He held out the darkened orb that signified Earth. Red Mage, however, didn't look as excited.

 

“Don't forget that Lich is still in there, and he's probably waiting for us.” Red Mage told them all. He touched the doorknob and looked back at his comrades. Black Mage was tapping his foot impatiently, and White Mage was nodding to show him it was okay to go inside. Red Mage pulled hard on the door, and nearly fell over. The door swung open with ease, and in the middle of the room was the Crystal of Earth, shining dimly behind a faded circle. Black Mage stepped inside the room.

 

“Well, where's Lich?” he asked, looking around at wherever the Crystal illuminated the room. There were rocks and a few smaller crystals, but no fiend in sight.

 

“Maybe he DID die…” Thief concluded, unknowingly stepping into the small circle. Light burst out from the floor, making Thief jump back. Suddenly, smoke and a few dulled screams filled the room, making it hard for anyone to breathe. Red Mage was sure they were about to die when the smoke cleared just as quickly as it came. And there in the circle stood a large skeleton wrapped in a cape with long purple hair. His fire-covered eyes scanned the room.

 

“Okay, who dares wake me up from my nap!?” he bellowed, making the room shake. Thief quietly raised his hand. Lich looked down and laughed, “A human? A human woke ME up? How hysterical!”

 

“Well, uh… it was an accident.” Thief said slowly. Lich tilted his head.

 

“Really? Well, if that was it, please go. I've been waiting for about 500 years for the Light Warriors to get their butts in here, and I don't want to waste my magic burning innocent townsfolk.” Lich explained, “Unless you've come to bring me a token of luck.”

 

“It's nothing like that, you idiot!” Black Mage grumbled, “We ARE the Light Warriors! And we're gonna toast you for draining the Crystal of Earth!” Lich stepped back and took a better look at the four warriors.

 

“You four are the Light Warriors destined to save the world? But you're just mere children! I tell you, they make these prophecies start at younger and younger ages… They just don't predict heroes like they used to…” Lich said, as a trip down Memory Lane commenced, “Why, I remember when I had to do battle with… Oh, what was his name? Ah, Sir Gatabold! Now, that guy was ready to fall apart! Why, his beard was longer than HE was!” Black Mage narrowed his eyes.

 

“ARGH! We're not here to listen to your senile memories! We're here to roast you, toast you, smite you, and basically beat the living crap out of you! Just shut up already!” Black Mage yelled. Lich stepped back, clearly hurt.

 

“This is why I hate these new prophecies! These new heroes are just SO rude! They have no manners! At least back in the day, the heroes would offer some final words before slicing your head off! Now it's just “Shut up and let me kill you!” Lich ranted, pacing around the room. The four just looked at each other as Lich wailed on and on about back in his days. Black Mage finally reached his limit and blew part of the room up.

 

“Okay, if you won't play the part and at least pretend to want to kill us, I'll start this! Fire2!” Black Mage cried, and aimed a fireball at Lich. Because Lich wasn't even paying attention, his cape set fire. He ran around frantically, putting the flame out.

 

“Holy Chaos, you people are pushy!” he exclaimed, “I'm trying to show some courtesy by not banishing you within the first ten minutes! But now you've crossed my line!” Lich grabbed a giant axe out of nowhere, “Prepare to die!” He charged angrily and attempted to slash White Mage, but Thief saved her in time as Red Mage deflected the blow with his sword. Black Mage tried another Fire2 spell as White Mage began a Harm2 spell. Lich vanished for a second, resulting in both spells causing damage to both mages. Lich reappeared behind Thief and tried to smack him with the axe, but Red Mage threw a rock and caught Lich by surprise.

 

“We've gotta run! He's too fast!” Thief yelled, and the four scrambled out of the room. They huddled up together under a small fire.

 

“Okay, to beat this guy, we need to know its weaknesses.” Red Mage said, “What do we know about the undead?” Thief pulled out the Brady Games guide.

 

“Well, it says they can't handle fire or holy spells, but neither of those work.” Thief said, reading quickly, “Swords don't do much… BM, do you have the Slow spell?” Black Mage raised his eyebrow.

 

“Of course not. Why waste my money on that piece of trash? It just takes up magic space.” Black Mage replied. A thick streak of blue splashed across Thief's face.

 

“We're doomed.” He said, “Unless there's another plan, we don't have anything we need.” Red Mage grabbed the guide and flipped through it until he found the page with an old picture of Lich. Suddenly, he grinned as an idea formed in his head.

 

“No worries. I have a plan.” Red Mage said, and ran back into the room. The others watched him in fear of a horrible scene of death. Lich cackled as he saw Red Mage approach again.

 

“Fool! Do you think you can beat me!?” Lich roared.

 

“Actually, you don't look like the guy we're looking for. You're much scarier and not as small. Is this you?” Red Mage gave Lich the old 8-bit picture of himself. Lich took it and examined it.

 

“Of course it is me, idiot! Do you not see my purple hair?” Lich asked as his hair shimmered in the light. Black Mage choked back a laugh.

 

“Well, how do we know it's you?” Red Mage asked. Lich sighed.

 

“I don't know… ask me something!” he suggested.

 

“Okay… how long has the curse been on Melmond?” Red Mage asked.

 

“About 50 years when I fired that Vampire.” Lich replied.

 

“I see… How long have YOU been here?” Red Mage asked, looking intently.

 

“About 400 years, give or take a decade or two.” Lich said tiredly.

 

“Wow. Okay, now what is Lich's ultimate attack?” Red Mage asked.

 

“Why, that would be my quake spell.” Lich replied, casually. Red Mage grinned as he quickly scribbled something on the guide.

 

“WRONG!” Red Mage exclaimed happily, “It says your best attack is to explode! Now, is this true? If it isn't, you're a fraud!” Lich nearly shrieked.

 

“Me!? A fraud? I don't think so! Of course I can explode!” Lich closed his eyes and focused very hard. In fact, he focused so hard that he exploded due to his brain overheating. Red Mage grinned even more as his friends ran in, amazed.

 

“RM, how did you know!?” Thief asked, “I thought his best skill really was quake!”

 

“Well, his lowest stat is Intelligence. All I had to do was make him believe he had to explode, and poof! He did!” Red Mage explained. Black Mage shook his head in amazement.

 

“Maybe you aren't an idiot after all.” He said, “Anyway, we have something important to do. Time to relight the orb.” Red Mage took out the Earth Orb and put it in front of the Crystal. The Crystal glowed for a minute, and a gentle music was heard. It made the four feel very refreshed. After a while, the Crystal stopped reacting to the Orb, and the cave began to look much healthier.

 

“It worked! We saved the first Crystal!” Thief cried happily.

 

“Now to go and see if Melmond is okay.” White Mage said. Black Mage nodded.

 

“Let's get a move on. After all of this, I'm pumped!”

 

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Yay! Our heroes relit their first orb! Will Melmond be okay now? Can our heroes find the second orb? Who's guarding it now? And what about Fighter, BB, and Sabin? Anyway, all of these questions will be answered in the next chapter, so click that Review button!