Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Desolation ❯ Devastation ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter 5: Devastation

Marche could've sworn he felt his heart skip a beat as Remedi's warm hands brushed his neck in what was almost a caress. This was the moment in which she would strangle him, he knew. She had won, after all.

He was completely unprepared when her hands came to rest on his back and pulled him into her arms.

"You poor dear," she murmured softly, stroking his hair affectionately.

Marche was unable to suppress the wild, instinctive urge that rose in him, and suddenly he was hugging her back fiercely, bawling into her cloak as the full weight of his misfortune finally hit him. The only good thing left in his life was the pity of his greatest foe.

"Oh, it's not pity, sweetheart," Remedi said at once, turning his face up to hers. "It's love, plain and simple. No one should ever have to experience this much pain at such a young age."

It didn't occur to Marche that she was reading his mind, or that she had released her hold on him. All he knew was that this woman was trying to comfort him, and for now, it was definitely working.

"And we're hardly enemies now," she continued, smiling genuinely. "I know you and my son aren't exactly friends anymore, but I've seen how you tried to help him, in both worlds. Only a true friend would do what you've done for him. For that, I thank you, Marche."

"But…my parents," Marche whispered, blinking away more tears.

"I'm sorry, honey," Remedi said, closing her eyes. "They are gone. It's no illusion. I wish there was something I could do for you, but…I have none of my former power here. I only had enough to keep your attention. The price of keeping any magic was just too great."

That last part stuck in his mind. Llednar had retained all his magic, and seemed unconcerned with any price. Ritz, on the other hand, had only done two spells, and had been reluctant to do any more. What price was involved that could've been so high for her and Remedi, but nothing to Llednar?

Before he could think to ask Remedi, she bent down and tenderly kissed his forehead. "I don't have any time left. Good luck, dear."

Marche found himself holding a stuffed bear a moment later, and Remedi was nowhere to be seen. He began to think he'd only imagined her being there, but the bear's black button eyes seemed to hold the same kindness and warmth that hers had. It was obvious now why this bear was so dear to Mewt. Marche wondered how it had gotten all the way out here.

"You were meant to find it where I left it," said a familiar voice behind him. "Just as I was meant to do this."

Marche swallowed noisily as he clutched the bear tighter to him and turned around. "Ritz…"

She turned toward his parents' graves and stretched out her hands. "No matter how you may feel about me now, Marche, I'm still your friend. But if you'd rather not have me in your life, I can kill two birds with one stone."

Marche was suddenly filled with a horrible sense of foreboding. "Ritz…what are you-"

"LIFE!" she cried, and then she vanished into the blinding white light.

Marche hid his eyes behind his arm, even as he took a few steps forward. When he could see again, he found Ritz staring sadly at the unchanged graves.

"It didn't work," she muttered. "I knew it wouldn't, but I had to try for you, Marche." She wobbled unsteadily on her feet, and then collapsed to the ground.

"RITZ!" Marche shouted as he ran to kneel by her side. "What's wrong?! What did you do?!"

"It's just the price of using magic here," she explained weakly as he propped her head up on his arm.

"What price? What?!"

"Lives, Marche," Ritz whispered, closing her eyes. "Each spell costs exactly one life, one human soul. I could only bear to take three, but I knew I'd need them, so…"

"Who, Ritz?" Marche pressed. "Who did you…?"

"My parents," Ritz sighed, a single tear escaping her right eye. "And now…" She gasped and clutched at her own chest.

"You didn't!" Marche gasped in disbelief. "Ritz, why would you?!"

"Because you wanted me to," she said simply.

"It…it wasn't worth it," he whispered.

"It was to me," Ritz said, carefully cupping his cheek with her free hand. "Marche, haven't you wondered why you haven't seen any other people on the streets? Didn't you wonder how Llednar kept his powers?"

"…he killed them all," Marche whispered in disbelief.

"Stole their souls, so that no one would ever be strong enough to threaten Mewt. He took enough of Doned's soul to put him in a coma, but left enough for him to live."

"Why?! Just to hurt me?!"

"Maybe he wanted to keep you busy, so that you'd leave Mewt alone. Or he wanted you to devote your life to Doned, like he did with Mewt. Maybe he wanted you to know how it felt to be him. To live entirely for a single person's well-being."

"I want YOU to live, Ritz!" Marche cried.

"Too late," Ritz whispered. "Bye, Marche. You should know that I…" She trailed off and went limp in his arms.

In a panic, Marche tore the Angel Ring from his finger and slipped it on Ritz. But there was no flash of light, and she did not open her eyes or spring back to her feet.

"Magic doesn't always work here," he reminded himself. "And why should it work for me? I'm only the idiot who brought this terrible world back. If only I'd listened to you and Mewt-no, nearly all of Ivalice-you'd still be with me…" Marche carefully picked her up, staring miserably at her pale face. "I'm so sorry, Ritz. You shouldn't have given up everything just for me. I'm not worth the cost."

At that moment, the strangest smell invaded Marche's nose. It was strange because he'd only smelled it in Ivalice, and even there, only in one particular place. By the time he'd realized it was the scent of melting amber, he could already feel the fabric of reality world around him rippling, as if someone had tossed a stone into a lake.

The air in front of him seemed to rend in two, split by a glowing blade of light. It seemed an awful lot like an illusionist's trick at first, but Marche had not been away from Ivalice so long that he couldn't recognize Ultima magic when he saw it.

In the next moment, a Bangaa tore through the rip, the glowing blade fading back into his Godhand as he shoved the two sides of the rip apart, making it even wider and bracing what could very well have been the weight of two worlds on his burly arms.

"Pallanza?" Marche asked uncertainly, even as the Bangaa grunted and nodded. "How did you get here…?"

"Why, through another Ezel Berbier exclusive, of course!" replied a cocky voice. The infamous Nu Mou emerged from the rip next, his many rings glinting as he swaggered forward. "Made it just for the occasion, too! So, how do you like my Walkabout Antilaw, kid?"

"Works great," Marche said faintly, still unable to believe what he was seeing.

"Knew you'd like it!" Ezel chuckled. He turned back to the rip and shouted, "C'mon, you slackers! I may be good, but the Antilaw isn't permanent. Move it!"

Montblanc and Eldena came through next, and bringing up the rear was the last person Marche wanted to see at the moment.

"Shara," he whispered sadly, unconsciously clutching Ritz's body tighter as the Viera's eyes landed on him. In that moment, Marche felt like he had personally killed Ritz. And in a way, he had. All she'd done was for him, and he'd never even known until it was too late.

But Shara did not scream or try to throttle Marche, as he expected her to. Instead, she merely walked over to him and stretched out her arms. By the look on her face, it was obvious what she wanted, and that any actions contrary to her wish would be met with grave consequences.

Reluctantly, Marche gave Ritz to her, and felt his heart lighten a bit as he did so. He barely even noticed when Montblanc patted his arm and said, "Be right back, kupo!" before zipping off down the street like a shot, having cast Haste on himself.

After Shara had looked Ritz over carefully, she looked at Marche. "Don't feel bad. This was always meant to happen. Ritz knew it, and now, so do you."

Marche gaped at her. "But how could she-"

"I told her," Shara interrupted. "I told her that she would die, that I would come back for her, and that she would live again-in Ivalice."

"You're taking her away?!" Marche cried in alarm. "You can't!"

"Would you rather bury her right here, knowing that she can live elsewhere?" Shara snapped.

Eldena gently grasped his arm. "Marche, her life here is over. She gave it up for you. When you die here, that's the end. It's why she couldn't revive your parents. But it's not so in Ivalice. You know that."

"But…you can't just take her from me," Marche protested softly.

"We had no intention of doing so," Eldena said with a bright smile. "You're coming with us, dear."

"…I can't. Someone has to look after Doned, and-"

"Back, kupo!" Montblanc announced as he ran up to them, steering Doned in a wheelchair.

"It is a one-way trip," Eldena admitted, "but we thought once you saw what was left for you here, you'd want to come home with us. Were we right, Marche?"

Marche bit his lip as he stared at them all. There was nothing left for him here, really. Mewt hated him, his parents and Ritz were dead, and only Doned was left. But in Ivalice, Ritz would be revived and Doned could be healed just as easily. What was the point in staying?

Eldena slipped her hand into his, and he could feel his fingers brushing over her Angel Ring. "Please come with me, Marche," she pleaded, tugging him towards the rip. "Ezel's Antilaw won't last much longer."

"We can be your family again, kupo!" Montblanc added with a smile.

Though he knew the comment was meant to cheer him up, Marche felt tears spilling down his cheeks. He walked over to Doned and placed Mewt's bear in his lap. "Okay," Marche whispered. "Let's go home."

The End.

End Notes:

I went out of my way to use the semi-secret characters. Yes, I know some of their jobs are different. I did that on purpose, to reflect what I had them do. And to see if anyone would notice. Did you? And did you leave a correction without reading the end notes? Hmm?

I have no proof that Eldena is an older Viera, or that she has any particular feelings for Marche. But I do know one thing: you don't like it, make your OWN story saying different. And please let me know when it's posted, if it's any good. ^_^

I gave Llednar the Nagrarok because it's a strong sword. No, he isn't a Paladin, but he has no trouble with other weapons that job uses (SaveTheQueen & Excalibur), so I see no reason why he can't use it.

I don't know everything about the game. The farthest I ever got was 286 missions, all Ultima Weapons, and all semi/secret characters (except Cid, obviously).

Please, leave any comments or questions you may have (story-related, game-related, etc.) in a review. I'm no expert, but I may know a few things you don't. Though keep in mind FFTA is the only FF game I know ANYTHING about; never played the others.

Don't demand a sequel, there will be one. I just have to get it out of my head and typed up first.