Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Final Fantasy: The chronicles of Four! ❯ An appreciation for all types of weather! ( Chapter 20 )

DISCLAIMER: I need one now since FF. net's new rule... I don't own FF or 8-bit, but I own the right to be very upset with FF. net

 

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“Wow! I can't believe it, but we're nearly done!” Sabin boasted as Cyan slipped the roof onto the house, “Cyan really helped us out, BB. I mean, really!”

 

“Great! So, how many houses did we manage to build within the week?” Black Belt asked, as he dragged Firion into a small grave he'd dug. Sabin's smile grew even bigger as he spoke.

 

“One! We finally built one!” he replied happily. Black Belt's eyes narrowed.

 

“That's it!?” he hissed, “That's all we have!? We've been working for over a month on this and we only have one house!?” Sabin's smile faded and a dumbfounded look replaced it.

 

“But we have a place to sleep, even if it cost us most of our men.” Sabin said, “I think it's a reason to celebrate!” Black Belt looked over towards the distant mountains.

 

“We could, but we still have to find Fighter, and then rebuild the rest of this place. And more importantly, we need to hire more staff.” Black Belt said, “I'll go look for Fighter. Can you find anyone who'll help us?” Sabin nodded.

 

“Leave it to me!” he exclaimed. Black Belt ran off, and Sabin took out a little phonebook from his pocket while walking to the small payphone Cecil had built before his untimely demise with a log accident. “Well, here goes nothing!” Sabin said as he picked up the receiver and dialed a number...

 

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In the Ice Cavern, the four heroes walked carefully into the large room where the Wizard had urged them to go. His warning of the Eye echoed in everyone's ears, and the dim lights and low temperatures of the room didn't make it any better. Thief walked into the center of the room.

 

“Hello? Is there anything in here?” he asked, and got no response, “Hmm.. do you think maybe it died?”

 

“It might be possible. The thing's been in here for who knows how long.” Black Mage shrugged, leaning against a wall. Red Mage looked across the walls for some explanation as to the Eye, but the walls were either completely blank or frosted over.

 

“Even if it died, we would've found a body.” Red Mage said, “I think it's alive somehow.” It was then that something really tiny was glowing on the floor near Black Mage. And, it attracted his attention.

 

“What the hell do you think this is?” Black Mage asked, picking it up. The others ran over to see it too. It was a small, glossy ball, though it looked like it was able to be opened. Black Mage tried to pry it open, but it wouldn't budge.

 

“RM, can you see what it is?” White Mage asked. Red Mage took out his guide and flipped through it, only to close it quietly.

 

“There's nothing in there about it.” He replied. Thief took the ball out of Black Mage's hand.

 

“Maybe some force will get it opened!” he suggested, and threw the ball as hard as he could against the opposing wall. The ball gave a mighty crack and fell on the floor. Thief went to take a look at what he'd done, only to fall backwards as the ball opened to reveal that it was an eye. And the voice that boomed from it was not a light one.

 

“Who dares to wake me up from my slumber!?” the eye boomed angrily, eyeing the warriors with suspicion.

 

“Whoa! That thing talks!?” Thief asked, amazed. The eye cleared his throat indignantly, and rolled to the middle of the floor.

 

“I am not a “thing!” I am the Evil Eye! And, if you are here for the Levistone, forget it! It's mine and I'll turn you to stone for it!” it said, which only made Black Mage laugh.

 

“You!? The Evil Eye!? Ha! Don't make me laugh, you're just a pipsqueak!” Black Mage cried with laughter. He was even moved to tears as he rolled along the floor. The eye huffed.

 

“So, this form isn't intimidating enough, is it? Then how about a more suitable one?” The eye asked, as it grew nearly one hundred times its size. A thick smoke began to fill the room, which bothered everyone except Black Mage.

 

“Oh. So you grew a little. Big deal! You're still a shrimp.” Black Mage said, as he began to laugh. But just as the first “ha” came out, the Eye shot a beam and turned Black Mage to stone.

 

“Mmmph!!! MRRRF!” Black Mage mumbled from inside his stony prison.

 

“Sorry, but I tried to warn you. I'm not to be underestimated.” the eye said simply. Red Mage raised his eyebrow as he thought the eye sounded much more confident than it really should've been. Feeling he was most suited to this situation, Red Mage began to put all his diplomatic training to use.

 

“And we don't underestimate you. We just need the Levistone.” Red Mage explained in the most polite tone he could. The Eye eyed him suspiciously, and scurried over to him with exceptional speed for an organ that should never move.

 

“And that's the very stone I've been guarding for my life! I shall not give it up!” it cried, throwing wisps of air up in frustration. A sudden and thoughtful silence filled the air as everyone remembered what the Wizard-creature told them.

 

“It's been getting too old, it attacks anyone who mentions the stone. It's getting senile.” the Wizard had said. Somehow, White Mage felt this was the key to their victory. Very cautiously, she walked up to the Eye.

 

“Um... Mr. Eye...” White Mage began.

 

“That's Mr. Evil Eye.” the eye corrected.

 

“Right. Sorry. What exactly do you have to guard the stone from? Is there any reason?” she asked. This made the Eye think as he rolled around, trying to find the answer in his head. After a few minutes, he came up with nothing.

 

“You know, now that you think about it, I can't remember why I had to guard it!” the Eye exclaimed, “Maybe it had something to do with sheep, but I can't remember.” Everyone shared skeptical glances as the Eye continued to ponder his self-proclaimed missions of protecting the stone. Black Mage even struggled to get free.

 

“Mmmmph!” he mumbled again. The Eye looked at his statue grumpily.

 

“Oh, will someone cure him? I can't understand a word he's saying!” it exclaimed in a huff. Obviously, it had completely forgotten that it was the one who imprisoned Black Mage in the first place.

 

“MMMMMPH!!” Black Mage tried screaming, but this only made the Eye sigh.

 

“I can't hear you! SOFT!” The eye huffed again, and soon Black Mage returned to his smart-assed self.

 

“Finally, you stupid retina! I was saying that if you can't remember, just give the stupid stone to us and let us be on our way.” Black Mage hissed, annoyed with his situation. The Eye looked thoughtful again, and scratched itself with a wispy hand.

 

“I suppose there's no harm in giving you the stone... are you all with the ETP?” the Eye asked, looking at the four skeptically. A sweatdrop rolled down Black Mage's head.

 

“No! We don't even know what ETP is! Just give us the damn stone before I take it and chuck it at your big, stupid, glossy head!” Black Mage threatened, but it didn't do much to move the Eye.

 

“I'd like to see you... uh...” the Eye, however confident, looked extremely confused now, “What was I doing again?” White and Red Mage just looked at each other, but Black Mage found this to be a perfect opportunity.

 

“You were about to give us the stone like we asked, because we're certainly not going to kill you when we leave.” Black Mage said, with an evil grin. Thief also took the opportunity.

 

“AND you were going to let us take whatever we wanted in the treasury!” he added happily. The Eye shrugged as well as an eye could, and opened the door behind him.

 

“Then, by all means, younguns! Take everything like I said!” he said cheerfully. Black Mage snorted as he took the stone, and everything else he found of value. He stalked out behind White, Red Mage, and Thief as the Eye gave a hearty wave goodbye. When they'd closed the doors to the room, they found the Wizard-creature waiting for them.

 

“Did you get it?” he asked, nervously, “I do hope he wasn't...”

 

“Relax, old man! We got it!” Thief exclaimed reassuringly, showing the Wizard the stone. Black Mage felt it best not to tell him they'd cleared the treasury too. The Wizard examined the stone, and handed it back, amazed.

 

“Wonderful! I don't know how you got the Eye to let go of it, but you did! Good job! Now, if you'll take those stairs, it'll lead to the outside world! Good luck!” the Wizard said, just as cheerfully as the Eye spoke. The four walked up the staircase he'd indicated, but just before he warped out, Black Mage made sure to set off a Fire3 spell, melting all of the ice and completely destroying the Ice Cavern as they climbed into the canoe.

 

“What was that!?” White Mage asked as she heard screams of utter torment coming from the cave. Black Mage smiled cheesily.

 

“Um... It was probably the Eye tripping on a rock! You know how senile he is! He could mistake it for a cave-in... or a fire...” Black Mage replied suspiciously, slinking into a chair. Thief shrugged and turned back to the ores, rowing the way they'd come.

 

“I just hope they're okay. I think I smelled burning limestone back there.” he stated, a hint of worry in his voice. Black Mage opened his mouth to scream something, then quickly decided it best not to arouse anyone's suspicions, mainly because he knew they'd throw him off if they knew what happened. Instead he looked over the sky.

 

“So, how long until we get back to Crescent, Thief?” he asked, a bit more cheerfully than he actually intended.

 

“About one to three hours depending on if we get lost.” White Mage answered, “You sound awfully cheerful, BM. What innocent creatures did you subject to torture?” Black Mage choked back a curse as he realized White Mage was indeed suspicious of him. He quickly tried to cover it up.

 

“I didn't kill anything! It's just... such a nice day!” Black Mage lied.

 

“And when are you one to comment on the loveliness of the weather?” Red Mage asked, just as skeptical as White Mage. Black Mage secretly wondered if he had either leveled up a ton or drank a Sudden IQ capsule. He seemed to be getting smarter, and Black Mage hated that almost as much as he hated Red Mage himself.

 

“Is it so wrong to enjoy the lovely mountain air once in a while?” Black Mage asked. Despite that the four were nowhere near any mountains anymore, everyone agreed with Black Mage's point, and nothing more was questioned until they'd reached Crescent. When they went to the Circle of Sages, no one was happy to see them.

 

“What are you all doing here!?” the first sage questioned immediately, “You need to get to the desert southwest of here! Time is of the essence!”

 

“Wait a sec, gramps. There's no way to go except for through a swamp, and I hate swimming. Can't you use your magic to teleport us there!?” Black Mage asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

“No, no, these things one must experience for themselves. Get going.” The sage replied, and with that, the four were urged out of town and soon canoeing through a short river leading southwest. Black Mage had taken to pouting and ranting as Red Mage tried to provide light against the darkness the thick trees of the swamp were creating.

 

“Stupid sages. I bet they can't even do card tricks!” Black Mage grumbled, slapping some water in fury.

 

“Relax! It could be worse.” Thief said, unaware that Black Mage was glaring at him. If looks could've killed, Thief would've been dead.

 

“Oh yeah? How?” Black Mage asked sarcastically, “We're going through a dirty swamp, about to cross a desert filled with who-knows-what, and then we're going to speak to a dragon god! How in the seven levels of hell can it be worse!?” White Mage sighed with boredom as she flipped a page of her book.

 

“We could be poisoned, we could have diseases, we could be with Garland...” White Mage listed countless perils they could face. But none of it moved Black Mage. In fact, it made him all the more annoyed.

 

“Enough, woman! I get the point!” Black Mage roared, and then slumped back to his chair, “Man, I really hate this quest. I can remember when we took this job for some simple money.”

 

“Yeah, but now we're out saving the world! What could be better than that!” Thief exclaimed. However, he'd been paying so much attention to the conversation that he forgot about the canoe, and it crashed into a well-place rock. The four flew out into the water.

 

“Being dry is better than that right now...” Red Mage commented, wringing out his soaked hat. Black Mage spat out a ton of salt water, and White Mage shivered as she climbed onto a rock. Black Mage was about to blow something up until he looked around, and for the first time since back in Corneria, he was actually afraid.

 

“G-guys?” he asked, shivering as he saw the dark trees and the murky water, “Where are we?”

 

“We must be in the swamp just before the desert.” Red Mage replied, looking at his map, “We'd better be careful. This place gets dangerous at night. But on a bright side, at least we're near the desert!” Thief and White Mage tried to smile at such news, but Black Mage didn't even pretend to be relieved.

 

“Bright side!? You're assuming we're even going to live through this!” Black Mage began to pace nervously through the murky swampwater, “Oh man, I wanna go home! I want my mommy.” Obviously, this wasn't a sight the other three were used to, and they all looked at each other as Black Mage began to rock back and forth. Finally, White Mage slapped Black Mage.

 

“Snap out of it! We'll be fine!” White Mage said, “Look, we're already a good deal into the swamp. Maybe we're close to the exit. So pull yourself together!” Black Mage straightened up, and his expression was a sour one as his three friends began to trudge ahead through the swamp. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he trudged through after them, trying to keep as quiet as he could. That proved more difficult than he thought, because he kept hearing rustling, creaking, croaking, and squirming sounds with every step he took.

 

“Are we out yet!?” he finally asked, pulling on his hat. His sudden outburst made everyone else jump.

 

“Do we look like we're out yet!?” White Mage hissed, “Keep quiet and follow us!” She turned around sharply and slogged a little faster to catch up with Thief and Red Mage. Black Mage pretended to zip his mouth shut, and continued forward until another noise caused him to rush up and slam into Red Mage.

 

“Didn't you guys hear that!?” he asked, panicked. He shivered and started to bite his nails, “We have to get out!! This place is haunted!”

 

“Black Mage, relax! The exit's...” Before Thief could finish, Black Mage bolted forward, “BM, WAIT!” The other three ran ahead quickly, hoping not to lose their fearful friend. They ran up the dirt slope only to trip over Black Mage, who was sprawled out. Apparently, he also slipped on a rock. Thief rubbed his head and looked around. The dark trees and cold air were behind them, and what greeted them was warm desert sand.

 

“Hey! I think we made it!” he yelled happily, “I think this is the desert!”

 

“Good. That swamp smelled as bad as we do.” Black Mage said, dusting off his sand-covered robe. He walked a little more into the desert and placed his hands on his hips, “RM, where do we put the Levistone? Let's do this before something comes to eat us.”

 

“I don't know. The sages never said where exactly to bring the stone. But maybe we should try the middle.” Red Mage suggested. The four walked through the desert, towards the middle, or as middle as Red Mage could guess. He brought out the shining Levistone, and placed it on the ground. A storm started for a minute, but died down a second later.

 

“Maybe we're not doing this right...” White Mage said quietly.

 

“I knew this was a wild chase! We never should've listened to Kary!” Black Mage growled, kicking the sand. Suddenly, he was thrown back as the ground rumbled angrily. Thunder flashed, and something huge began to emerge from the sands.

 

“What is that!?” Thief asked, as he moved backwards a little. Red Mage shielded his eyes to try and get a glimpse, but he could barely see through the sandstorm. It looked like a ship.

 

“Is... is that the ship!?” White Mage asked, as the entire ship was now in view. Sand spilled off of the deck, through the windows, and out from the sails.

 

“It's huge...” Red Mage said, looking the ship up and down with awe.

 

“Think it works?” Thief asked, as the last bits of sand fell out, leaving a majestic view of an ancient ship. But somehow, it didn't seem to be a happy view at all. Red Mage looked at it sadly, and touched the woodwork.

 

“RM, are you okay?” Black Mage asked. Red Mage continued to stare at the ship for a minute. Then he turned around, tears streaming down his cheeks.

 

“This... this was my father's ship.” he replied, “The Highwind. I barely remember it, but I know this is it... but does this mean.. my dad's still out there?” White Mage looked down, and Thief was thinking about something. Black Mage placed a hand on Red Mage's shoulder.

 

“Your dad was a warrior?” he asked. Red Mage nodded.

 

“Yeah. He's why I'm a Red Mage. I always wanted to be as strong as him... but he left when I was little.” Red Mage replied, looking at the ship nostalgically, “I thought.. maybe I could ride the Highwind someday.” Thief smiled.

 

“Well, today's the day.” he said proudly, a tear coming down his face, “Today you'll sail like your dad did. And who knows, maybe we'll find him.”

 

“We'll even look when this is through.” Black Mage said, “And I won't bitch about it too much.” Everyone laughed at the remark, and Red Mage jumped onto the ramp leading to the deck.

 

“All right, then! Friends, the time for talk is over. It's time to go see Bahamut... and for me to finally grow up like my father wanted...

 

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Yes! Our heroes finally got their airship! But what a twist, Red Mage's dad being the owner and all! Anyway, can they get to Bahamut on time? What powers can he bestow on them? Can he really help them defeat the remaining fiends? And will Red Mage be able to find his father? Find out on the next chapter, so click that Review button!