Final Fantasy Charms

[Yoshimitsu]

"Ugh... Ungh..."

The room was dark, lit only by a dim candle light. The air was pleasant, though it concealed a slight smell of smoke, evidently recently cleared up. The air was almost silent, except for the flickering of the flames and the occasional turning of a page.

"Urgh... No... Ungh..."

The sheets on the bed started shaking, folding, twisting, tearing. The man who was sat on the chair dropped his book and rushed over to the bed, pulling off the covers.

Lying on the bed was an eighteen year old male. His long-ish, white hair, which was usually straight, was covering his face. His black shirt was half unbuttoned, the buttons being forced apart by his constant writhing. His black jeans were looking thouroughly creased, and his shoes lay abandoned, accidently, at the foot of the bed.

"Wake up!" The man said, shaking the teenager vigorously. "Please, wake up!"
"Ugh..." The male said, his eyes slowly opening. "..Ugh... Wha..."

"Oh thank the Goddesses you're awake," the elderly man said, his voice filled with relief. "You've been asleep for so long, and suddenly you start having a fit or something! I was worried."
"Whe...Where am I?" The youth said.
"This is Narshe, the world's only mining town," the man explained.
"Wor..ld..?" The youth questioned.
"You don't know what the world is?" The man said, evidently shocked.

"The world isn't what it used to be, according to the legends. Once upon a time, or so they say, the world was inhabited by something called 'magic'. I, myself, don't believe this, but I'll tell you anyway. Magic is supposedly a wondrous thing," the man said. "It can cure you of wounds, increase your own physical capabilities, inflict a terrible damage on your foes and even summon unearthly monsters to attack."

"Ma...gic..." The male said.
"You must have amnesia. By the way, my name is Arvis," Arvis said.
"Name... Ja...son... Jason," the teenager said.
"Jason? That must be your name," Arvis said, sounding astounded. "No one's ever heard of someone recovering so quickly."

Suddenly, there was a very loud knocking sound at the door, which made both Jason and Arvis jump. Arvis leapt out of his chair again and ran towards the window, peeking through the curtains.

"Oh no, Jason," Arvis said worriedly.
"Open up, Arvis, we know he's in there!" A rough voice shouted through the door.
"Jason, this way, quickly!"

Arvis rushed through his house and lead Jason to the back door, turning the handle.
"Jason, go over the bridge and into the caves. Follow the path," Arvis ordered.
"Right," Jason said, stepping through the door after. He looked down as he heard a scraping sound, and was amazed to see a sword hanging at his waist. He pushed it to the back of his mind, and started running over the bridge.

"There he is!"
"Get him!"

Jason stopped, and looked over the bridge. The Narshe Guard force were below him, looking up at the bridge.
"Take the cave!" One shouted. "And the house!"

Jason ignored what they were saying and ran across the rest of the bridge. A cave was clearly in view, but the inside was incredibly dark. Instantly, a strange thought sprung into Jason's mind. He thought about fire, and it appearing in his hand. As if by magic, it did, not using a fire source or sparked by any heat.

"Magic? Is this magic?" Jason thought. "Well, whatever."

His magical fire lit the cave just as well as any other fire would, only it wasn't going to run out. He ran over the craggy earth, and up some steps when he found himself at a dead end. He turned around to backtrack, but found his path blocked by a monster.

It looked like a rat, only a lot bigger. It had bulging parts that Jason took to be infections or mutations, that allowed it to be so huge. Its sharp teeth were as long as Jason's own forearm. Jason swallowed. He'd have to get by through fighting.

The rat seemed to sense Jason's unwillingness to fight, and lunged at him. Jason, however, dived to the side, amazed that he could pull off moves so nimbly. Jason spun on the spot, and threw the fire at the rat as hard as he could. It caught one of the rat's 'infections', causing it to shriek in pain.

That shrieking, however, had a not-very-good effect. It triggered a rumbling in the cave, and rumblings always lead to cave-ins. This was no exception. Jason's eyes darted around the cave, looking for what was happening. He looked down just as the cracked earth gave way, and fell. As soon as he landed, the last of his consciousness left him.

 

[Linkachu]

Deep in the Narshe caverns lived unique creatures to the rest of the world. They were about the height of a child, covered in white fur from head to toe. Those who'd managed to catch a glimpse of the oddities would describe them as anthropoid animals between a cat and bear, with two particular distinguishing features: their small, bat-like wings and single antenna that had a sphere at the tip. Along with their red-button noses most would call them "cute", but there was definitely more to these critters than would meet the eye.

One particular member of the group stood back from the others as he examined their home. Torches hung along the walls, straw-weaved carpets lining the floors - all of it thanks to his smarts, which was why he was considered their leader: Lini, king of the Moogles (OOC: I forget, do they generally use the term "Moogle" as singular or plural?). Smarts weren't the only thing going for Lini, though. Unlike the rest of his gang, he'd always been fascinated in the world above and had adventured there time and time again. Over the years he'd managed to pick up the language of humans, not to mention some of their traits shown by his abandoning the traditional Moogle usage of spears and maces for swords and the tendency to wear a long-ish, green hat. He'd found it during one of his a trips upside and had been attached to it ever since.

It seemed like it was going to be another peaceful day, or in Lini's mind, "Boring as hell". He wanted some action! Something that'd get his adrenaline pumping! Something-

Suddenly the entire cavern began to rumble and roar, sending high-pitch yelps and shrieks throughout the group. It felt as if they were being repeatedly bombarded by some distant force. Lini's eyes went wide. He knew exactly what all this meant: a cave in! And where there was a cave in, there was usually a trigger.

Bracing himself as the cavern continued to tremble before falling an eerie silence, Lini gave an excited leap and cried out, We're checking that out right away! Anyone who's looking for a little excitement, follow me! (OOC: For future reference, italics like that without quotation marks means translated from Moogle language, unless someone can think of a better method.) He quickly raced across the room to snatch up a slightly rusted steel sword that rested against the wall, turning to grin at the still shocked faces of his friends and family before spinning around and racing towards the back door of their cavern. Hopefully some of them would follow. If they didn't there'd be hell to pay when he got back!

Darting out the exit, the Moogle didn't have to go far before skidding to a stop before a body; a human body. He stared at it curiously, revolving his eyes up to the roof of the cavern to find a gaping black hole. Ah-HAH! So this human must've fallen from above. I wonder if he's alive? Slowly inching closer, he bent down to further examine the body, feeling for a neck pulse and sighing in relief. Good good, still kicking. Don't want any corpses sitting at my front door. He seems to be unconscious, though. Fall must‘ve knock ‘em out.

"I think we've found him!"

The sharp voice made Lini jerk back. It was human, and it sounded dangerous. Crawling away from the body to peer around a large boulder, he narrowed his eyes at the sight of about 15 armor-clad men standing by the far end of the cavern. They had some dogs and large mammoth-like creatures with them, too. (OOC: Gonna need a list of monster names XD)

All that just to catch one guy? Poor dudes' outnumbered 25:1! I won't let them get away with this, especially this close to home. We'll back him up and knock ‘em down! As soon as the words had left his lips the sound of footsteps filled his ears, and he turned find 11 armed Moogles standing by. Lini smiled brightly. The odds are against us, but our home is at stake! We won't let ‘em through if it's the last thing we do!

Getting to his feet, he turned to stare out at the on-coming enemy and felt a slight chill run down his spine. "Back up would be nice right about now, though."

OOC: Yeah, by now I'm sure some of you would've noticed that this is a take off FFVI - hence the topic name - BUT, as you can also note, its not stuck dead-on with the original scripting/plot. The way we're doing it variations are definately fair game, so anyone who hasn't played the original game can jump in with their own character, ideas, whatever. Yes, that means people like YOU Prof. Cinders

If I said that wrong or missed anything feel free to correct me, Yoshi.

 

[Yoshimitsu]

Gonna need a list of monster names

OOC- http://www.cavesofnarshe.com/ff6/enemies.php

BIC-

There was a knocking at the door of Arvis's house. Arvis chose to ignore this, expecting more Narshe guards. What he didn't expect, however, was the lock of his front door to click and the door to swing open. A female figure stepped through the door, flipping her hair as she walked across the hall.

The girl's attire was definitely made for speed. She wasn't carrying anything that looked particularly heavy, except for a dagger hanging at her waist. Her top was a dark colour, but it was impossible to tell which colour in the light. She wore a short leather skirt, and underneath some skin-tight black shorts. Her boots looked worn.

"So, Arvis, what did you call me for?" She said, her dark brown hair reflecting the very little light.
"How goes the robbing and plundering trade, Sarah?" Arvis smirked, knowing how much this annoyed the treasure hunter.
"That's TREASURE HUNTER!" She said angrily.

"Ha ha ha... I couldn't resist... Anyway..." Arvis chuckled. "I called you here for a very important reason..."
"Does it have anything to do with that Sorceror that everyone's talking about?" Sarah demanded.
"He was a slave to the empire, no thanks to this," Arvis said, pointing at the Slave Crown on the table.
"Hmph."

"Anyway, the guards are after him. And we all know what'll happen when the guards get to him," Arvis said darkly.
"You mean if," Sarah corrected.
"Yes... Hurry, he went into the cave from here," Arvis said urgently.
"Right, I'm on it."

***

"You go left," the Narshe Marshal ordered, pointing to a troup of a Vomammoth and two Lobo dogs who were being led by a guard. "And you go right. You two, head up the centre. Moogles or no moogles, we'll get that boy."

Sarah dropped in through the whole that the rat had caused, bending her knees as she landed.
"This must be the guy..." She muttered to herself. She checked for his pulse, like the moogles had, and found him still alive. As she looked up, she saw the moogles, armed and ready for battle.

"Awesome, moogles!" She grinned. She looked a bit further, and saw the Narshe guards. "That's almost all of the guards... He must have caused some serious trouble to have them set on him."

"Alright, moogles! You're gonna help, right? Plit into three parties, three of you with me, and we'll take on these bastards!" Sarah said, taking command.

*****

"Are we sure its safe to just walk in?" One of two soldiers asked.
"No, the guards will be on us in seconds. But since they found that creature in the mines, the emperor wants it," The second said.
"So why is he with us?" The first asked.
"Sam, he destroyed nearly all of our Magitek knights in seconds."
"And he isn't gonna do that to us?"
"No, that slave crown stops him. He'll follow our orders."
"I'll take your word for that, Andrew."

The three Magitek-riding people started hiking through the snow, the Magitek armour making it much easier than it would be without. Within minutes, they were at the gates.

"I'll handle this!" Sam said.
"Sam! Let him take care of it," Andrew ordered.

Jason piloted his armour right up to the gate, and started fiddling with the controls. The orb at the front of the armour started glowing red, and gathered energy from the air around. Jason pushed one last button, and the energy was released.

A beam of pure heat energy, gathered from what it could, shot out of the orb, at least a meter in diameter. It smashed the gates, blowing them right off their hinges. Whatever was still standing was in flames.

*****

OOC- Yeah, that last bit was a dream sequence... in case you hadn't guessed. Feel free to jump in here any time.

 

[Crabmeat]

OOC: I'll get a post in later today. I'm going in to town in a bit so I gotta go have a shower just now. Sounds awesome so far though ^^

EDIT: Change of plan, gonna hold off for a few posts. There really isn't anywhere for my character to jump in.

 

[Doctor Oak]

OOC: The fact you changed the genders around on Locke and Terra is a pain in the ear.

BIC:

"Emporer Gestahl, Sir?" On top a balcony shrouded with deep, dark black clouds, two men and two Imperial Guards stood, looking down on unimaginably large army. The wind swept violently across the high-altitude arena and left the two men up top yelling at eachother over the sounds of the air being sliced around them.

"You failed, he escaped - and that Esper has been lost." Gestahl turned to face the extravagantly garbed man that stood behind him. "General Leo has been sent to clean up your mess."

"Call General Leo back." Replying indignantly, the General stepped foward and looked over the balcony to the huge mass of troops. "I will personally return to Narshe and retrieve that Esper. While I'm at it, I'll gut that little boy for messing up our plans."

Gestahl paused, also looking out across the men below before turning back to his General.

"Alright Kefka. You can sort this out yourself. You will, however, meet up with General Leo outside Doma first and tell him personally that he is to return here to aid with the preperations."

Kefka grinned quickly before bowing to Gestahl. "As you command, sir."

Taking a step back, Kefka watched as Gestahl turned to the troops once more and raised his hands.

"Loyal Soldiers and brothers! Today is the beginning of a new world! A new world once again in touch with the awesome power of Magic! With this power at our fingertips we will be invincible and can bring a new era of prosperity and power to the world! And I as Emporer shall rule over this new world and ensure that peace will forever reign in my Global Kingdom!"

Meanwhile, behind Gestahl, Kefka had already stepped back into the stairwell for the balcony and had begun to descend alone.

"Fool," He muttered quietly to himself. "He has no idea what's really going on around him... Not that it will matter." He looked across from the bottom of the stairwell out towards the huge crowd of loyal troops. "Not when all of this and more will be all mine... VEE,HEE,HEE,HEE,HEE..."

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

OOC: Oh yes, I like this very mucho. o_o

With the last twist of the wrench, It was done. He spent months reconstructing it - after that horrible day where he found it wrecked, and found out that she was no longer alive. It tore his world apart in more ways than he thought possible.

She started off as a rival - she and him were the only people who owned airships. They used to continuously race each other, taunting each other. Their friendship grew with their rivalry. They helped each other refit their airships. Friendship blossomed into love. Those were the days of freedom... At day they rode the winds, daring each other to push their machines over the threshold of their abilities, and at night they found comfort in each other's arms, sharing the warmth of each other's body underneath the covers.

Rivals and lovers, both sharing passion for the air... and for freedom.

He remembered that day more than ever. His airship wasn't flying fit that day - but her ship was modified with some special, experimental aerodynamic modification that she cooked up. She said that she could outspeed anything. He wished her luck. Little did he know that their parting kiss would be truly the last...

His eyes opened - a strange shade of lavenderish-blue. This was all he could have done to commemorate her. This was once their home - the hangar for both the Blackjack and the Falcon. Now, It was a final resting place - for the ship and the woman who flew it.

He had no where to return. From this day forward, he would make his home on the wind.

~*~

He donned the gloves on his hands again - noting the patterns of the circuitry and the clear glass half-spheres embedded on the center of the back of the hand. The airship's navigation orb only responded to anyone wearing these gloves. The orb itself - roughly the size of a globe - was at the moment blank and clear, nestled on a pedestal. Circuitry patterns ran through the pedestal and onto various stretches of metal along the design of the cockpit. He lowered the scanner goggles onto his eyes, allowing several strands of silver-tipped dark brown hair to fall over them. The device allowed him to see through the ship's 'eyes', in several frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum. Lastly, he adjusted his long gold-trimmed black trenchcoat, silvery rune designs flowing on it. He always liked that coat. He never knew exactly why.

"Take my love, take my land... take me where I cannot stand... I don't care, I'm still free... You can't take the sky from me." he muttered under his breath as he placed his gloved hands on the navigation orb.

The orb burst to life. Light ran through the circuit patterns on the entire ship. The orb - and the smaller orbs on his gloves - lit up in swirling, dark blue, lights dancing within it. The navigation system kicked in.

Panels on the side of the ship - a strange hybrid of metal and complex polymers - opened as the antigrav thrusters whirred to life. Air Intakes opened, drawing air into the engines. The ship began to lift off the ground and steadily hover up into the sky. He adjusted the location of the gloves on the orb and tapped a few times on certain spots. the light patterns in his glove-orbs changed. Deep within the core of the ship, Hydrogen isotopes from the large blimp-like container atop the ship suddenly sparked into light as they were fused into Helium. Contained Cold-Fusion provided the main power supply for what was to come next.

He turned his hands slowly on the orb.

And the main engines kicked in.

The Blackjack launched into the sunset, leaving almost everything that its pilot has ever known behind. From this day on, for the right stakes, even his life could be gambled away.

 

[Linkachu]

OOC: A change from my last post. Both Moogle and human language will be displayed as normal (no italics), I'll just make sure people can tell which language Lini is using.

BIC:

"Kupo!" Lini quickly nodded at the words of the human female. It would've been a thousand times easier just to speak to her in the human tongue, but something told him now wasn't the time to reveal such a rare gift to a total stranger. All he could do was trust that she was the back-up he'd been hoping for.

Looking back at his Moogle companions, he spoke in his native language, "The lady here wants us to split into three groups. She'll take one group, I'll take another, and Kumog will take the third." He motioned to a Mace-wielding Moogle standing near the front of the group, who appeared aged and battle-worn.

Kumog didn't say a word but acknowledged Lini's order with a nod, as did the rest of the Moogles. Not a one said a thing against the decision. As far as they were concerned, if the situation involved humans Lini knew best.

"Alright. Listen up! These will be the groups…" Lini said at last, and with nothing more than a few simple gestures split the group of eleven into three teams. As requested, three of his companions split away to join the human female. Another three came to stand before Lini himself, and the remaining four stood with Kumog. "Now, spread out like the enemy! The best way to protect this boy is to cut them off before they ever reach him. We're gonna take ‘em head on!"

"Kupo-po!" the valiant cry of his comrades rose up around him.

Lini clutched the hilt of his short, rusted sword tightly and looked up to the girl for a signal. Maybe he didn't want her to realize he could speak and understand her language, but he wanted to make sure they were on the same page, too.

 

[Yoshimitsu]

Sarah glanced down at the moogle as he took charge. Though all she could hear was constant shouts of "Kupo!" she could tell that he had taken charge and was directing the moogles. In next-to no time, Sarah found herself accompanied by three moogles, two of them holding bladed boomerangs and the other a moogle-sized hatchet. All of them carried shields, one looking very scratched.

"Alright, I'll go down the centre," Sarah said, pulling her dagger from its sheath at her waist. Sarah was not especially strong, but she was very fast, usually able to get at least two hits in before anyone else had a chance to get one. In just a few seconds, she had made it halfway down the cave, the moogles struggling to keep up. However, she found her path blocked.

"Whoever you are, lady, you're not going anywhere," A guard said, pointing his sword at her. In front of him, there were two mammoth-like creatures, and a wolf. The moogles moved in front of Sarah, and one of them looked up at her with a determined face. Sarah nodded, hopped over the moogles and ran straight for the guards.

The wolf pounced at her as soon as she made her move, but it dropped to the floor, yelping, as a boomerang caught its side and ripped through the skin. Sarah gave a grim smile, jumped over the wolf, and kept on running.
"Vommamoths!" The guard yelled. The pair of mammoths moved closer to each other, blocking the cave off completely. Sarah smirked, ran at the mammoths. She flipped onto the left one's back, landing on her hands, and pushed off that completely clearing the hairy beats. They both turned, but then let out shrill cries of pain.

"Ku-kupo!" A moogle yelled, running at the left mammoth to retrieve his hatchet. Sarah didn't stop running until she hit the guard. The guard raised his sword, ready to strike, but as he swung it down he was stopped. Sarah was holding her dagger above her head, and had caught the blade. She threw it back, and launched a spinning-kick at the guard's chest. It caught him in the rib-cage, causing him to stagger slightly.

Quickly, he spun in the spot, launching a powerful slash attack. Sarah threw her dagger out, and blocked the slash again. This time, however, it had taken much more effort, and her arm felt the effects. She jumped, and spun in the air, kicking the guard in the head this time and knocking him against the wall. Then, she ran in and launched a punch to the man's stomach. The man swore, then fell to the ground, clutching his stomach and glaring at Sarah. He drew back her foot, then kicked the man in the face, knocking him out completely.

"Ku-popo!" She heard a moogle cry behind her, and turned to check her companions. One moogle was hovering above a mammoth, catching his boomerang as it bounced off the mammoth's hide, leaving a shallow cut. Then, another moogle flipped through the air, and brought his hatchet crashing into the cut, both widening it and damaging the muscle. The hatchet-wielding moogle jumped off, and dived at the other mammoth, cutting through its tough hide.

"C'mon!" Sarah yelled. "We gotta take out the leader!"

The moogles all nodded. Two boomerangs shot at the same mammoth, and both dug into the same point on it's back. The pain knocked the mammoth out. The hatchet wielding moogle spun on the spot, and left several deep cuts in the side of the mammoth, knocking it out due to blood-loss.

"But damn, those moogles can fight," Sarah smirked, running down the cave.

 

[Linkachu]

"Out of my way, mutt!" Lini cried as he dodged the vicious snap of a snarling Lobo and slashed out to slice the wolf across its face. It yelped in pain, backing away and shaking its head, only to be knocked straight off its feet when the spiked mace of another Moogle struck it in the left temple. "Excellent hit, Kupa!" Lini cheered, giving the young Moogle a thumbs-up.

"Thanks," Kupa grinned back, gazing at the bodies of the now three unconscious canines lying among the rocks. "We should move on quickly, boss!"

"Right! Let's keep going!" Lini nodded to Kupa and their other two companions. "We'll make those scum pay for ever entering this cave!"

Taking the lead, Lini hopped over the wolves and continued onward through the natural maze of rocks, a human cry catching his ear. It was close. Skidding to a stop, he peered around a large boulder to see a man commanding two Vommamoths forward. The lumbering beasts passively obeyed, swinging their mighty tusks from side to side and knocking rubble out of their path.

"Hah! With these beasts under my command, cutting through this rock mess will take no time at all! That boy‘s neck will be mine," the single solider laughed cruelly.

Lini couldn't help but shake his head. Pitiful mammoths. To be broken by humans in such a way was worth than death. No self-respecting Moogle would ever serve another creature in such a shameless manner. The sword-wielding Moogle's thoughts were broken when he felt the presence of his comrades behind him, though, and held an arm out as a signal to hold their position.

The four Moogle's crouched low and waited silently as the Vommamoths stomped closer, the ground rumbling with each mighty step. "Come on, come on there! Hurry it up!" the soldier's voice rang out again.

Suddenly the nearest mammoth revolved its red eye around to land on Lini, jerking back in surprise before stomping in place and bellowing angrily.

"We've been spotted!" Lini yelled. "Take out the human first, and don't let them catch you with their-" His commands were cut off as the Vommamoths swung its mighty tusks towards them and sent several large stones sailing through the air. The Moogle's acted quickly scattered to avoid the impact, but while Lini and two others took cover among the jagged rocks, Kupa leaped out right in front of the beasts and man.

"What the?!" the solider snapped in surprise, his eyes soon falling to the mace clutched in Kupa's hands. He readied his own weapon and glared at the furry, winged creature. "Whatever it is, kill it now!"

"No, Kupa! Watch out!" Lini yelped over the bellows of the Vommamoths, staring in horror at the sight of the young Moogle standing rigid with determination as the two monsters bounded towards him. No matter how skilled and brave he was, they'd trample him alive! "Dammit!" the sword-wielding Moogle cursed, and without another thought he dashed out of his cover into the fray, knocking into Kupa hard and sending the smaller Moogle tumbling just inches out of harm's way. Lini on the other hand wasn't so lucky.

"KUPOOO!" he cried in pain as the tusk of one of the Vommamoths drove deep into his left shoulder. The trunk of the other lashed out to strike him harshly in the ribs and send him crashing into the rocks, tearing the tusk straight out of his flesh in the process.

"Lini!" echoed the cries of Kupa and other Moogles. The three prepared to rush out to support him but Lini intervened with a yell.

"Protect yourselves! I'm alright! I‘m gonna give these guys a taste of what we can really do!" His shoulder burned with pain, blood trickling down his chest and staining his white fur, but still the sword-wielding Moogle struggled to get to his feet. Slowly he turned to stare into the beady red eyes of his attackers, who huffed and bellowed fiercely at the injured creature but didn‘t advance.

"And I thought the other one looked stupid. This one's wearing a hat!" the solider laughed, stepping up closer to his beasts to get a better look. "I don't know why you're here, but you're out of your league, pint-sized. Crossing the Empire means death."

Lini didn't respond. He was too busy concentrating on the energies around him. The rocks, the dirt, the forces of mother nature herself… He was the catalyst of awaking their ferocious power, a power far beyond his own control. Every time he called upon it was a risky bet, but these Empire scum were just asking for it.

"Heh. Show time," Lini said then with a smile - in human. The man's eyes went wide with surprise, but it‘d already begun. Lini tapped his feet, letting the rhythm rush through his body, then did a jig so fast you could barely follow his steps, finishing it up with a hop and a spin and striking a pose. "Break it down!"

The cavern howled at once, tremors firing out in all directions and causing the entire area to tremble. Lose stones from the ceiling began to tumble to the ground, making the Vommamoths and solider cry out in shock. "What the hell is going on!?" the man screamed, for fiercest rumbling was right above his head. Lini took a step back with a satisfied smirk as the roof finally caved and an avalanche rocks rained down upon the Vommamoths and their master until all three were covered. Not a one made a movement or a sound.

"And that's what you get for crossing a Moogle," Lini chuckled. With the adrenaline fueling his spirit diminished, though, the burning of his shoulder returned with a vengence. "Aguh… They got me better than I thought…" he cursed, rocking unsteadily on his feet until finally collapsing into the debris.

"Lini! Lini!" he heard his comrades cry, Kupa's face then appearing over his own. "Lini! That was reckless! All of it!" the young Moogle snapped. Lini could see the worry in Kupa‘s eyes yet still couldn‘t help but grin.

"Yeah… it was…" he began, "but it was damn fun, too."

Kupa and the others retorted angrily to that remark, but their voices were drowned out by the Moogle's own thoughts. "Looks like I'm down for the count. It's all up to Kumog and that human now…"

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

The humans and moogles caught up in the fighting failed to notice one shiny stone fall down among the other stones - about the size of a human's palm, dropped down from an upper level of the caverns and into a pile of rocks. there it lay, completely indistinguishable from the others.

Until another stone fell upon it and cracked its shell, revealing an interior of glowing, lavender crystal. It flashed once, twice, three times, and went silent.

And then, a burst of lavender energy emerged from within it in a sparkle of light, and dashed around the cavern like a tiny comet. It started flying in circles around the head of one Lobo, the wolf-like canid growling and snapping at it, but never reaching it. Then it dashed forward in the direction of one of the lumbering wolly behemoths, Lobo in hot pursuit - and when the Lobo leapt, it vanished.

The wolf's fangs pierced into the Vommamoth's neck. The creature's eyes widened and it unleashed a terrifying, trumpeting roar. It then jerked its head to the side, knocking the Lobo off with a direct impact with its tusks. The Lobo charged again, forgetting its initial target and giving in to mad rage, primal instincts breaking through years of domestication. The Vommamoth and Lobo were locked in a deadly combat while suddenly, a second Vommamoth simply vanished into thin air.

The Human who commanded the two, who was frantically trying to take control of the battling mammoth and wolf, began falling into panic. Then the purple thing appeared again - though its form was obscured by the lavender light, he could tell that it was giggling.

The human drew his sword and charged, sticking the blade into... nothing at all? The illuminated creature vanished. And the Vommamoth reappeared, the sword in trapped in its back, charging out of control and trampling the human, in direct collision course with the second vommamoth.

It never stood a chance.

"Then again," the creature within the light thought "I never really did explain why those people seem to believe that mammoths can fight in caves."

Then it giggled again, for no reason in particular, and vanished yet again.

OOC: What is the mysterious being within the light? Why the heck is IT attacking the Narshe soldiers? Will I ever cease my rambling? Tune in to the next exciting installment of... Final Fantasy Charms! xD

 

[Yoshimitsu]

Sarah ran at an approaching Vomammoth, the hairy beast moving with deceptive speed as it bounded at her, ready to spear her with its tusks. Sarah gave a small smirk, and jumped to her right, kicking off the cave wall and cartwheeling through the air, her hands grabbing the Vomammoth's back. She spun into a crouching poisition, and slid down its face, grabbing its tusks to hold herself in place. The mammoth was furious, and started jerking and shaking its head, rearing up on its hind legs and smashing its front legs into the ground repeatedly, trying to shake the human off its head. Sarah adjusted her hands and tightened her grip. The creature was both blind and angry - not a good combination. It smashed its feet into the ground, and spun, charging right into a nearby wall. Sarah flipped onto its back, and kicked off, flipping through the air and landing smoothly as the Vomammoth smashed into the wall, knocking itself out.

Turning, she saw Lini unconsious.
"Geez... Alright, you two!" Sarah said loudly over the fighting, pointing to thetwo moogles with boomerangs. "You go help that moogle wearing the hat!"

One of the moogles glared at her reproachfully.
"Sorry, I don't know any of your names, and we're kinda in a mess here," Sarah said, turning and running back towards the general. He was barely ahead of them now... She took a right at the fork in the cave, then a left, another left, right again... Just as she turned another corner, she found herself face to face with another Vomammoth.

"KUPO!" She heard the cry of her moogle companion above her, and saw a spinning figure fly over her head and crash into the mammoth-like creature. The moogle wrenched its hatchet out of the creature's hairy back, and gestured to the general. Sarah nodded, and dodged around the mammoth which had been distracted by the moogle's quick actions. Very quickly, she ran down the path, and found herself at the end of the maze, with only the general and two wolf-like Lobos to keep her company. She glanced behind her, and saw her comapions still fighting. She'd have to do this alone.

"Maybe you should go back and play with your dollies, little girl," the general mocked.
"Sorry, Halteese, but that's never gonna happen," Sarah smirked back at him. Halteese, or so Sarah thought he was called, lost his composure for a second. However, his Lobos could still fight. They bounded forwards, and lunged at Sarah, both ready to chew right through her skin, he veins, her muscles, to rip everything off of her bones and leave only her skeleton. Sarah turned side on and brought her foot sweeping under one of the Lobo's jaws, knocking it back a few meters. However, the other got close enough to her and jammed its jaws around her left wrist, cutting straight through the skin. Sarah moved her arm almost too fast to follow, pulling out her dagger and ramming it into the Lobo's throat. The wolf's jaw instantly loosened, and Sarah wrenched her arm out, kicking the canine off her dagger.

"Daaaaamn," Sarah said, ripping some cloth from the bottom of her top, exposing her midriff to the cold cavern air. She tied the cloth around where the Lobo had bitten her, stopping the bloodflow. After quickly wiping the blood off her dagger and re-sheathing it, she was ready for the second round. However, Halteese was fighting now, with his slightly dazed Lobo. Sarah took the first move, flipping to her hands and spinning, performing a perfect helicoptor-kick, knocking the incoming Lobo away again. However, the general's chain wrapped around her leg as she slowed down, and he pulled it sharply, spinning it around and over his head, and Sarah with it. However, as she was being scraped over the floor, she grabbed Halteese's leg, and threw him underneath her, landing on him instead of the floor. She flipped to her feet once again, and stood in a defensive stance, dagger drawn.

"Very good, little girl," Halteese taunted. Sarah's eyes flashed. She didn't like being taunted. With a swift movement, she kicked off the wall behind her, and flipped over Halteese. She tossed her dagger into her left hand, and brought the right round in a punch at the general's head. He swore and spat a little, but was otherwise fine. Sarah grabbed his shoulders, and kicked his legs out from underneath him as she rolled backwards. As she rolled, she adjusted her feet, so they were positioned at the base of the general's back. She pushed hard, sending Halteese fifteen foot in the air, and quickly stood up. As he descended, she brought her foot round and over, slamming into the general's falling body, her foot sinking into his stomach. He smashed into the floor, leaving a (very) small crater, unconsious. Sarah wiped her forehead, and grinned triumphantly. Turning on the spot, she saw the rest of the moogles, either resting or finishing off the very few left over monsters.


"Thanks, moogles," Sarah said as she stood at the secret entrance to the caves. The moogles were all stood, still inside the caves, making sure the pair of humans were alright. Sarah had Jason's left arm slung over her shoulders, and was carrying him best she could out of the caves. She turned, and stepped into the cold Narshe air, the cave closing behind them. After a few steps, she felt Jason stirring.

"You awake?" She asked, sounding concerned. Jason mumbled something incoherent, and half-opened his eyes. Sarah gave a small laugh, and pulled a small vial from one of her many pockets, popping open the lid. She lay Jason against the wall, and raised the strange-looking, green liquid to his mouth. He swallowed it with question or argument, and he immediately felt his energy returning to him.
"Th... Thanks," he said, shaking slightly.
"No problem," Sarah said. "But you know, you can't stay there. I know it's tough, but unless you want to be caught again, we'd better keep moving."
"Alright," Jason said quietly, standing up.
"Well, we'd better go to Figaro Castle," Sarah sighed. "There's a royal figure interested in meeting you. I'm Sarah, by the way. Who are you?"
"Jason," Jason replied. Sarah nodded, and started walking away from Narshe. Jason turned, and took a good look at the mining town. He could tell that it'd be a long while until he came back.

OOC-...bleargh ending. Icky.

 

[Linkachu]

Lini wasn't sure how long he was out for, but when his eyes fluttered open the cavern was silent aside from his own breathing and that of the many Moogle nearby.

"Does this mean... we won...?" he managed to get out between the twinges of pain every time he attempted to move.

"We won," Kupa's face suddenly appeared with a warm smile. Lini noted that the young Moogle's eyes were red and puffy. "That... that was a really stupid move, Lini. You could've been killed," Kupa said sternly, straining to keep his voice steady.

"Well, yeah..." Lini cracked a smile, sitting up enough to place a paw on Kupa's shoulder. "And I'd do it again in a heart beat."

By this point the rest of the group had begun to stir, the sword-wielding Moogle gazing around at them to see that everyone was accounted for. A little worse off, what with the blood and gashes in various places, but accounted for.

"Need a lift?" Kumog stepped up and held out an arm, which sported a nice looking wound. Both of his arms did for that matter. Looked to be the result of a mace or whip.

"Sure, old timer," Lini grinned, checking to see that his hat was still in place before grabbing onto Kumog's arm and hosting himself up. "I think this victory calls for a celebration. Let's party til it kills us!"

"Right..." Kumog murmured and rolled his eyes as he and Lini, a long with the rest of the group, began the trek back home. That was Lini for you.

OOC: And that's that for teh Moogly-Moogles - for now. When will they return? Who can say. MWAHAHAA!

... Or something like that. Someone else could play as a Moogle character if they wanted too, but not Lini. He's mine stolen from El!

Get 'em to the castle and whatnot, Elly boy. I'll pick up with my new charrie after that.

 

[Yoshimitsu]

"General! Enemies have reached the gates!" A soldier yelled, smashing into the room, his helmet askew and his sword held loosely in his left hand. "They have a battering ram! I don't know how much longer the gates can hold!"
"Back to your position, soldier," the general ordered. She had a very soft voice, very calm and soothing, yet somehow commanding and official-sounding. "Tell the archers to use their flame arrows - the battering ram is made of wood, I assume?" The soldier nodded, adjusted his helmet and marched out of the room.

She looked nothing like a general, except maybe for the breastplate and shoulder-pads she wore. Her hair was a dark brown colour, except for her fringe, which was blonde and fell over her left eye. She wore earrings, each with a miniature cross hanging from them. Her necklace was partially obscured by her breastplate, but it matched her earrings, only slightly larger. She wore a deep red shirt under her breastplate, one sleep tucked into the gauntlet she wore. Her gauntlet had two thin, curved blades extending from it, almost like a talon. Her other hand was bare. She wore very casual-looking trousers which fell over her leather boots, which in turn hid her metal shin-pads.

"General Vierra, you're needed at the gates!" The same soldier said, sticking his head through the door. "They are about to fall, and we don't have enough soldiers stationed nearby."
"Alright," Vierra said, standing up. "Hold the gates for as long as possible, if they get through, they must be worn out."
"Yes ma'am," the soldier said, saluting and running off. Vierra sighed, and looked over to her desk. Her weapons, a short sword with a sapphire fixed into the handle, and a shield that had been decorated very carefully. Patterns of flames were along the edges, fading into a snowflake design in the centre. She lifted them, and walked out of her room, locking the door as she went. Why had the Empire chosen Doma to attack? They were very out-of-the-way, and a neutral country. She had little time to ponder, however. A battle was to be fought.

"What's our status?" Vierra asked, tying her hair back as she marched through the soldiers.
"The gates are barely holding - just a few more minutes before they fall," a soldier replied.
"Hmm... It seems our only option is to fight. We must open the gate," Vierra ordered.
"What?!"
"Are you mad?!"

"Silence," Vierra said. Her voice was quiet, but its effect was immediate.

"If we open the gates now, we can save the gates and we still have a high chance of victory. If they break down the gates, more and more soldiers will come until we're completely overrun and forced to evacuate," Vierra said. "We will win this battle - we're better trained, we have the advantage. Now, open the gates."
A soldier ran to tell whoever operated the gates. Vierra turned and took a deep breath. Could they really win this battle? Well, no use worrying about it now. She'd just have to try her best.

*****

"Alright, Jason, here we are," Sarah said. Jason stood next to her, almost fully recovered from his fall. He was still limping, but at least he didn't need support when he moved. They were stood in front of a huge castle. To Jason it looked like more of a high-tech fort, clearly steam- or coal-powered. He couldn't tell. There were turbines on a number of the towers, which were connected by something that looked like something could move along it automatically.

"Figaro Castle?" Jason asked.
"Yep. There's a guy in here you need to meet," Sarah replied. "This is hush-hush, but Figaro is secretly working with the Returners. The Returners are a group of anti-Empire rebels. Victims of Empire assaults joined the Returners, and people who think that the Empire's headed the wrong way."
"And the Empire is... Gestahl?" Jason said, thinking for a moment.
"Nice to see you're not thick, or ignorant," Sarah said, winking and grinning. She stepped up to the castle steps.

"Hold on! You need... Oh, it's you. Go right ahead," a guard said, automatically moving to block their path. He stepped aside, and Sarah pushed open the front doors. The guard glanced at Jason shiftily, but he managed to cover it up by adjusting how he stood. Jason ignored this, and stepped inside.

"I need to go talk to someone," Sarah said. "Hang around here, I'll be back in a few."
"Yeah, 'cause I wouldn't get lost in this castle, would I?" Jason said, smirking. Sarah rolled her eyes, but she couldn't supress a grin. He certainly was witty, she thought as she stepped into the Royal Chamber. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

 

[Linkachu]

Thanks to Stel, a huge overview pic of Figaro Castle - for those of us who forget or have no clue what it looks like

http://fenrir.finalfantasyq.com/ff6/realestate/figarocastle.gif

If I find some interior pics I may add them, too.

EDIT: And Stel bloody rocks

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v70/StellarWind/FFcastle.jpg

 

[Linkachu]

A young solider sighed quietly to himself as he stood on guard at the front gates of Figaro Castle. His heavy steel armor was giving him back pains again, and even after being on active duty for a year and a half he'd still never gotten use to wearing a helmet. Yeah... It was all necessary precautions in these times of looming war. Armor could save your life, right?

Well, that was just great. Standing out front in plain sight - in desert sun and heat no less - when threats of an all-out war grew across the land. Might as well have been wearing a target sign. But armor would do the trick! Just as long as the enemy wasn't throwing anything larger than a rock...

"I should just fake being sick again. Or maybe pretend that the heat drove me insane. That'd keep them off my back for a bit..." the male muttered to himself.

Across from him another solider stood tall and watchful, gazing over at his companion and asking, "Something wrong, Cyril?" He had a much more dignified and seasoned tone than his counterpart.

"No... Just talking to myself... You know me, Pete," the younger male, Cyril, drawled. He didn't even attempt to sound energetic.

"Heh. You should take more pride in your duty, son," Pete replied with a hearty chuckle and his usual optimism. "It's a honor to be able to protect your homeland and its people... To protect the things you cherish. Not everyone has the power to do so."

"Yeah... Yeah. I know. A great honor. A symbol of respect," Cyril murmured. I wish they'd given the 'honor' to someone else...

Suddenly Pete's armor clanked noisily as he rushed forward to block the gateway, Cyril looking up to notice two figures standing before them. One was new, but the other was all too familiar to both Cyril and Pete - to everyone in the castle for that matter.

"Sarah..." Cyril whispered with affection as Pete stepped back to let the female and companion pass. You would've noted a silly smile on his face if not for the helmet as he leaned over to watch Sarah disappear through the entrance way. Maybe there was one good thing about this gig…

***​

"Hmm… What rhymes with ‘angel'," a well-dressed man muttered to himself as he sat comfortably upon his throne. With long, flowing blonde hair tied back in a pony tail, his features were soft and delicate; well kept for someone who lived in the middle of a desert. His purple-ish clothing and light, greenish armor plating had a very aristocratic sense about it, topped off with a long, silky blue cape. Labeling him a "pretty boy" would've been dead on. But that was him: Edgar Roni Figaro, King of Figaro Castle.

"Maybe I'm going about it wrong… Who says it needs to rhyme?" Edgar continued to murmur when the royal chamber doors suddenly creaked open and Sarah walked through. The man's eyes lit up brightly. "Ah, the amazon goddness returns!" He lept from his seat and hurried towards her, giving a bow with a smirk. He knew how much she hated being called that.

"Give it a rest, Edgar," Sarah rolled her eyes. "We have more important things to deal with. He's here."

The king's expression and tone shifted to become deadly serious as he straightened up. "Where is he?"

"I'll take you to him," Sarah replied coolly, and turning led the man back the way she'd come.

OOC: I wasn't exactly sure which Edgar look to use since the official art differs from in-game pics, so I went with a mix of both.

 

[Yoshimitsu]

Jason was toying with his magic when Sarah was meeting with her mysterious person. What was magic, he was thinking, and why did he have it? He thought of fire again, and willed it into his hand, where it promptly appeared. Why could he simply will things into existence? Pausing, he thought about something else.
"Electricity," he thought, trying to will that into existence. Nothing happened. "Ice," he thought. Nothing again. He paused again, and realised how tired he felt.

"Cure," he thought. Instantly, he was covered by a pale green glow, and he felt his bumps and bruises seem to fade away, leaving him feeling fine. Better than fine. Great. He tried to will fire into existence again. A flame appeared in his hand, but it vanished again nearly instantly. Jason stared at his hand for a minute, trying to figure out why it hadn't stayed. As he did so, he found himself feeling tired... drained. While he was thinking, the doors at the top of the stairs opened, and Sarah returned, accompanied by a royal... womaniser?

"Is this him?" Edgar asked Sarah.
"Yeah, this is the guy. He's called Jason, by the way," Sarah said, gesturing to Jason. Jason turned and looked at Edgar. "Jason, this is King Edgar Figaro the fifth."
"King Edgar," Jason said, extending his hand. "It's a pleasure."
"Jason," Edgar replied, shaking Jason's hand. "I've heard stories about you. Magic? Magitek? War?"
"Edgar!" Sarah snapped, sounding very strict.
"My apologies, Jason," Edgar said, bowing and turning away. When Sarah wasn't looking, he whispered, "Just keep your hands off Sarah, and we'll get along just fine."
"Don't worry - she's not my type," he muttered back, smirking.
"Hmm? Something wrong?" Sarah asked.
"Nothing. Anyway, I must be off. The chores of being a King," Edgar sighed. He strutted off, like a proud peacock.

"He's very..." Jason started. He couldn't think of anything respectful to say, so he closed his mouth.
"...flirty?" Sarah suggested, a faint grin on her face.
"That... wasn't the word I was thinking of, but it'll do," Jason admitted.
"Don't worry about him, he'll hit on anything that's female and roughly humanoid," Sarah explained. "Anyway, we're staying here for a bit, so I'll show you to your room."

Jason nodded and followed Sarah. He could tell Edgar was always like that, but even though he didn't expect it, he found himself warming to him already. He could tell Edgar was a loyal man, and he'd defend his friends and allies with his life. As Sarah opened the door to his room, Jason thought again.

"Is magic really this special?"