Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Final Fantasy: The chronicles of Four! ❯ Outer space and the Stars BEYOND! ( Chapter 26 )

DISCLAIMER: I don't own FF or 8-bit. I've tried the new reply system, but you all need to email me to talk because the system doesn't seem to work.

 

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“Okay, report call!” Black Belt called on a megaphone, as everyone put down their tools and looked towards the blue-suit-bearing hero, “Sabin, status report on the gym!” Everyone then turned to Sabin, who had just finished Bum Rushing a tree. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and smiled.

 

“Everything's going as planned. I have the first floor built and the second is nearly complete.” Sabin replied. Black Belt grinned and boomed into the megaphone again.

 

“Good! Iris, status report on the residential areas!” Black Belt boomed. The girl reploid from earlier chapters waved cheerfully.

 

“We have over five houses built! And Zero's finishing another one as we speak!” Iris chirped happily, and a minute later, Black Belt saw a roof being lowered, and a small crowd of people behind were cheering and throwing confetti. Black Belt's grin grew.

 

“Wonderful news! Nathan, how's the interior to the town hall coming along?” Black Belt asked. Nathan, who'd been busy painting, popped his head out of a second story window and gave the thumbs-up.

 

“I'm all done here! We just need to let the paint dry, and then we can move in here.” Nathan replied excitedly. However, through sheer excitement, Nathan lost his footing and fell out of the window, landing on Black Belt. People gasped as Nathan got up, saying “Sorry, boss.”

 

“It's okay.” Black Belt mumbled, dusting himself off, “Now we just need the report on the weaponry, and we'll be set for now. Fighter, how's it going over there?” Everyone turned one last time to a lone building all the way towards the back. It was dusty, dark, and it didn't look like anyone was working on it. Black Belt scratched his head.

 

“Where is Fighter!?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. Everyone else murmured and mumbled about something, but no one gave a direct answer. That is, until they saw Fighter running up the hills, screaming.

 

“RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!” Fighter screamed, “IT'S COMING! THE MAD OSCAR IS COMING!” Remembering that Mad Oscars are among the most deadly of creatures, everyone began to run, scream, shriek, and basically have a panic attack. People ran into the houses, jumped into the fountain, hid in trash cans, or just up and left town. Only Black Belt and Fighter remained. Black Belt sighed.

 

“Well, you really did it this time, Fighter. Now we have no crew and the town's probably going to be destroyed again. Any words?” Black Belt asked. Fighter nodded nervously and grinned.

 

“Bring lots of breath mints?” Fighter joked, laughing nervously. But judging by the look on Black Belt's face, he didn't share the humor. Fighter hung his head as the two waited for what was inevitably their own boss battle.

 

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“Are we there yet!?” Black Mage asked, breaking the silence to the peaceful journey, “We've been flying around for over three hours!” For probably the 50th time this trip, Black Mage looked out the window and sighed angrily, slumping into his chair.

 

“I can see mountains up ahead, maybe it's past there.” Red Mage tried to reassure, but even White Mage was beginning to doubt him.

 

“RM, that's what you said an hour ago. Are you sure we're not lost?” she asked gently. A roll of sweat came down Red Mage's face as he sped the ship to get through faster, and was relieved to see the entire area covered with sand. Only a small clearing to the right lay some grass, so Red Mage maneuvered to park there. Black Mage and Thief jumped up in glee when they heard the engine being shut off, and burst through the door and into the expanse of the desert.

 

“Finally! I thought we'd be trapped in that hellhole forever!” Black Mage exclaimed happily, taking deep lungfulls of air. White Mage walked out, followed by Red Mage. She brought out a small crystal chime, and looked around carefully for something. Thief watched her for a minute and finally had to ask.

 

“WM, what're you looking for?” he asked, “This is the right desert, right?” White Mage nodded before answering.

 

“Yes, it is. But I'm looking for the tower. It should be here.” White Mage said, and she sounded a bit troubled. Black Mage realized that he didn't see any tower either.

 

“Do you think maybe the sandstorms decimated it?” he asked calmly, “This is a barren wasteland, and the weather is harsh.” Red Mage knelt down and gently picked up a bit of sand. It felt dry, but a bit heavier than it really should be. He also noted that the air was dry as well, and no wind seemed to be entering the desert, hence the tall mountains surrounding it.

 

“I don't think that was it. The conditions aren't right for a sandstorm, not even a small one.” Red Mage replied, and added, “Try ringing the chime right now, WM. The elder just said we need to be in the desert, not in the center, right?” White Mage hesitantly held the chime in her hand.

 

“He didn't say anything about the center... all right, I'll try it.” she agreed, and rang the chime. For a chime so small, it made a lot of noise as it rang all across the desert. And, the farther away the sound got, the more powerful it sounded. But as it passed the mountains, silence slowly took its place, at least for the moment. By now, though, the four warriors knew how this worked, and waiting moments before even suggesting to leave. After three minutes of pure silence, the ground began to crack. The four ran back a bit, allowing the sand to crumble as a large tower protruded from the ground. Everyone stared at the tower as it finished rising from the ground, the sun gleaming off of it. And, in the middle of the wall, a door appeared out of thin air.

 

“Think it's safe to go in?” Thief whispered. Red Mage tilted his hat, drew his sword, and walked in without giving an answer. In a way, that told the other three to follow him. As they all walked into the tower, the air became much colder and stiffer. And it smelled of earth, of strong, powerful earth.

 

“Let's find this fiend quickly. I'm not sure I like it in here.” Black Mage complained, as Red Mage checked out two roads they'd come to. One was a dead end, so he ran down the other road, the other three at his heels. It was only when they'd come to another crossroad that they realized they were in a maze.

 

“Aw man! A maze?!” Thief moaned, “How can we find the cube in one of these!?” Red Mage, who everyone thought had taken to silence, finally spoke.

 

“Just follow me. The dead ends are relatively short, but I can see them from the crossroad. But we have to move quickly. Did you see the timer on the walls? That's how much time we have until this place sinks into the sand again.” Red Mage said. Thief snapped his fingers.

 

“So that's why you're giving us the silence treatment! It saves time!” Thief exclaimed.

 

“ I figured that if you really wanted me to talk, you'd let me know. But other than that, yeah, it saves time. But quickly, before we run out of time.” Red Mage pressed, and ran ahead again. Very quickly, he led his team up the stairs onto the second floor. At first everyone was worried they'd have to go through another maze, but as soon as Red Mage saw a large break in the wall, he ordered Black Mage to use Fire3. The wall crumbled as soon as the fireball hit, revealing the stairways. Red Mage ran up, and was relieved to see the third floor was but a single room.

 

“Are we out yet?” White Mage asked as she walked into the room, “...Red Mage?” Red Mage's look crossed into a confused expression as he walked into the center of the room. Thief came in and stopped next to White Mage.

 

“What's wrong, buddy?” he asked, noticing the troubled look on Red Mage's face.

 

“The cube... we haven't found the cube yet.” Red Mage said, “But there haven't been any chests or containers, so I doubt we missed it.” Black Mage finally came up, a look of annoyance from what he just heard upon his face.

 

“Should we just go back down and find it?” he suggested, but Red Mage shook his head.

 

“We don't have the time. But it must be somewhere! Maybe there are some clues here...?” Red Mage stopped as he noticed his friends had become very pale, “Guys, what's wrong?” Thief, who was probably the bravest of them all, pointed a shaky hand behind Red Mage and tried to mumble something, but it was too gurgled to make sense. Red Mage gulped, and stiffly turned around only to come face to face with a giant robot. It was black, with eyes that flashed pure red. Steam billowed from behind it, giving it an even more sinister appearance.

 

“AHHHHH! OH MY LORD, RUN!” Red Mage screamed, but neither he nor his friends could move, in fear of whatever this thing was. It slowly marched forward, making Red Mage quiver in fear until it was close enough to launch an attack. But instead, it held out its hand. And inside was a cube made of pure quartz.

 

“Human... are you the one they seek?” the robot asked, in a metallic yet deep voice. Somehow, that calmed Red Mage down enough to move.

 

“The... the one they seek? Who are they?” Red Mage asked.

 

“The Lufenians. They are my masters, and I have sworn to help stop the fiend of air.” the robot replied, “But I am unable to reach the tower. Only a being chosen by the prophecy can use the Cube.” Thief blinked.

 

“And you think that's RM?” Thief asked, raising an eyebrow. The robot didn't nod, but more steam began to pour out of it.

 

“Isn't it? He's come to the tower, and has found me, the holder of the Cube.” The robot explained, “I am no longer capable of protecting this cube, but I know you are the ones. Please... use... it...” Red Mage noticed the robot's eyes were beginning to dim, and the steam stopped completely. The robot then fell over, and didn't get up. It was dead, its life completely put out, and with no way to recharge. White Mage walked over and knelt next to it.

 

“...you weren't a bad person...” she said, sadly. Red Mage reached into its hand and took the cube. Then he walked up to the small pedestal in the center of the room. There was a perfect hole in the pedestal, just big enough for the cube to fit into it.

 

“Come on... we must keep moving.” he said quietly. Black Mage and Thief headed up onto the small platform, and White Mage dried her tears before joining her friends. Red Mage gently put the cube into the hole, and instantly the cube exploded with light as it transformed into a portal, which sucked the four into it and closed itself up completely.

 

“Uhn... huh?” Thief opened his eyes slowly, and looked around, “Where are we? RM? BM? WM? Are you all okay?” Red Mage had landed only a few feet away, and was waking up as well. Black Mage was pacing around the small room, and White Mage was just waiting. When Black Mage saw that Thief was up, he stopped pacing.

 

“It's about time you two got up! We've been waiting for over an hour!” Black Mage cried, throwing his hands up. Red Mage rubbed his eyes as he got up off the floor.

 

“Where are we?” he asked, rather sluggishly too. White Mage unfolded her arms.

 

“I think we're in the Sky Castle.” she replied, and walked over to the window, “Just come here and see for yourself.” Red Mage walked over to the window and looked out, only to jump back and gasp.

 

“We're... We're in outer Space!” Red Mage exclaimed, “But... but how!? Is Sky Castle really that far up?”

 

“It freaked us out too, but when you think about it, it's not all too surprising.” Black Mage said, “The fiend of air probably gets her power from being up here. Speaking of her, should we find her?” Red Mage snapped his attention away from the window.

 

“Probably. But still, this sight amazes me! If only I brought a camera...” Red Mage said, turning to the window again, but he stopped himself, “Uh... anyway, yes. Let's go.” With that, he dragged himself out the only door he found. The other three looked at each other with worried glances, but Thief shrugged it off and told them to follow Red Mage before he got too far away. As it turned out, though, the first floor to the castle was a simple hallway, and Red Mage stood just at the other end.

 

“What're you waiting for? Go up!” Black Mage hissed as they came towards him. Red Mage glanced at him, and pointed to a small sign above the door.

 

“I'd like to, but we've reached a snag.” Red Mage said, “Apparently we need a key card to get in, but we don't have one. And I can't find it around here.” Red Mage pointed along the hallway, and made it clear that besides the houseplants near the room they exited, there was really no place to put a key card.

 

“But it has to be somewhere! What if we check in the room?” White Mage suggested, turning around to go back towards their room. Black Mage quickly stopped her.

 

“Oh, for the love of Chaos! It's just a damn door! Anything can knock it over! Watch!” Black Mage cried, and aimed something at the locked door, “FIRE3!” And, as with the wall he blew up in the tower, the door blew apart on contact with the fireball. Thief wiped the side with his hand and whistled.

 

“Wow, that's amazingly effective!” Thief commented afterwards. Black Mage brushed past him and up the set of stairs.

 

“Wondrous, isn't it? Now move it before I blow you to pieces.” Black Mage threatened. Thief ran up as Red Mage helped White Mage along, but they stopped again when they saw the third floor. Everything looked exactly the same. Red Mage ran down one hallway, only to end up right where he started.

 

“So, it loops.” Red Mage mumbled, “I can see why people are afraid of this place.”

 

“How do we know which way is what?” Thief asked, and panic seemed to have settled in him. Black Mage looked down the halls carefully.

 

“We could mark the windows we pass. That way we'll know if we've been somewhere.” he suggested, and put a tiny dot on the window they were currently in front of. Thief snapped his fingers happily.

 

“Ingenious! Now we'll be sure to get out!” he exclaimed, as he ran down the hall with Black Mage, who stuck another dot on another window. White Mage was about to follow, when she noticed Red Mage wasn't moving.

 

“RM, is something wrong?” she asked calmly. Red Mage nodded, and walked down the hallway with White Mage slowly.

 

“Yes. Somehow I don't think the solution is as easy as marking a few windows.” he replied, skeptically, “But I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try... eh... Thief? Where's Black Mage?” Thief, who'd been standing there waiting, looked at Red Mage with uncertainty.

 

“He went down this hallway, because we found the window we already marked. But I think something's wrong. I can hear him cursing from here.” Thief stated. Red Mage listened closely, and definitely heard Black Mage screaming at something. A minute later, Black Mage was walking up the hallway towards them, and his expression was very sour.

 

“Marking the windows does squat. They're all the same now. We've marked them all, and we've successfully screwed ourselves with this!” Black Mage cried, throwing a small rock at one of the windows. Unfortunately, this set off the alarms for a few guards down the halls.

 

“Oh great! There's a bunch of them too!” Thief said, as he saw a legion of guards running towards him, “Run!”

 

“We can't, this way's blocked too!” White Mage cried back, as another group of dark guards circled them. Black Mage muttered under his breath as they came to a halt. One of the guards, who Red Mage assumed was a commander, took a step up. But instead of drawing his lance, he bowed politely.

 

“Goodness! A visitor in the castle? Quite a rare sight indeed.” he said, making the heroes give quizzical looks, “Oh, my apologies. I haven't properly introduced us. I am Captain George Lark of the Sky Welcoming Committee. We're here to help any visitors find their way around. Can we help you?” Red Mage was too frozen to speak, so Black Mage took the liberty for him.

 

“You can start by getting the hell away.” he began darkly, “For if you try to hurt us, I'll simply have to kill you.” The captain's eyes widened with fear as he clutched his helmet.

 

“Hurt you? Why on earth would we do that? We're civilized citizens of this castle! Queen Tiamat wouldn't stand for needless bloodshed!” the captain cried, his voice becoming shaky. Thief looked at Black Mage.

 

“Queen Tiamat?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

“Must be the name of the fiend we have to slaughter.” Black Mage whispered, and turned back to the terrified captain, “Listen up, peon. Tell us where this supposed queen is, and I might just spare you until she's dead.” The captain at this point passed out completely, so another dark knight behind him took the task of negotiation.

 

“Sorry, sir. But that's not possible.” he said, in an odd Australian accent.

 

“Why not?” Red Mage asked gently, as not to scare this knight too. The knight took out a small book and opened it up.

 

“Because. You can't see our queen until you've made an appointment. Your name's not on the list!” the knight replied. Black Mage twitched and blew up the book, making the knight jump back, and crash into his brethren, causing everyone to fall over.

 

“Appoint this, you pathetic little ingrate! We're the Light Warriors, and if we want to see the queen, we're going to see the damn queen! Get it?” Black Mage asked, dragging the knight directly so he could make eye contact. The knight tried to loosen his grip, until Black Mage dropped him. He got up and coughed.

 

“The... The Light Warriors!?” he coughed, and added quickly, “Of COURSE you can see the queen! She told us to let you in as soon as you all arrived! Right this way!” The dark knight beckoned for the warriors to follow him as he walked down he hallway, turned left, and actually went through a window into another large hallway. The warriors went in, and gasped at the vastness of the room. The bridge across it seemed to go on forever, and they were so high up that they could just barely make out the room below. The knight stood by the bridge and saluted.

 

“Right this way to the throne, good sirs!” he said. Red Mage thanked him and got onto the bridge. Along with his friends, he walked down it, his only thought being what the queen would look like. And when he finally managed to make it to the end, nothing prepared him for what he saw. The queen wasn't a large dragon, but rather a hydra with dragon wings. Her skin shined blue, and her neck was covered in jewelry. Just as Thief approached, she spoke.

 

“Who is there?” she asked, in a calm yet commanding voice. Red Mage could see that she had tiny glasses on her face. But, in all her glory, he was too speechless to answer. And seeing as how no one else said anything, he guessed his friends were too.

 

“Please answer thy call. Who is in thy domain? Why hast thou awakened thee?” she asked. Again, no one could answer. And Red Mage realized that everyone was looking at him. Gathering his courage, he would attempt to talk to a dragon. No, not just a dragon, a goddess, even. He took a step forward, preparing for the worst...

 

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Well, it looks like our heroes finally found the last fiend! But, is she good or evil? Will she roast them to bits? Can they stop the terrible gales that have threatened Lufenia? And how's Cherry Town going to fare? Find out next chapter, so click that Review button!