Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Final Fantasy: The chronicles of Four! ❯ To Melmond, the city where everything dies... ( Chapter 11 )

Aw, one review again? I'm lucky I have 17 reviews. Anyway, Mimic12355, you came back! I will keep up the work, so as usual, I don't own any FF games or 8-bit!

 

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Everything had been so peaceful. Everything was in perfect order. But that was before Sabin taught Fighter the Bum Rush, the most destructive blitz known to man. Now everything was in chaos. Vases had been smashed, windows be broken, and people were bowled over.

 

“I thought you said he'd be sleeping like a baby after this!” Black Belt cried, waving his arms in critical motions. All he and Sabin could do now was watch the incredible destruction as Fighter redid the Bum Rush over and over.

 

“That guy isn't human!” Sabin exclaimed nervously, “Most people fall down and cry for their mommies when they see the Bum Rush. He just does it in spades! He's out of control!” Black Belt counted the hundreds of Fighters he saw as Fighter spun around everything so quickly that he created the illusion that there were millions of him. Suddenly, a man in armor clad rushed out of a room.

 

“Thou art so oblivious! That armor-bearing lad hath killed Terra!” he said quickly, and soon tens of voices screaming in unison followed it, along with the sound of falling plaster. Fighter just Bum Rushed the building, causing it to crumble.

 

“Uh, how powerful IS this new blitz, anyway?” Black Belt asked.

 

“It decimates most enemies with but one blow.” Sabin replied, “In other, simpler words, we'd better get the hell out of here!” Sabin, Black Belt, and the proper-speaking armor guy quickly ran out as the remainder of the building blew up from yet another Bum Rush…

 

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Meanwhile, our heroes were sailing the small of Aldi Sea towards a distant island with a mountain poking out of it. This time Red Mage was steering the ship as Thief casually held the map, glancing at it every few seconds.

 

“Boy, I'm sure glad those Elves gave us a map! We might've NEVER found Mt. Duegar so fast!” Thief exclaimed happily. Black Mage instantly had a sweat drop rolling down his head as he walked up to Thief and snatched the map out of his hand.

 

“You call this a map!? Thief, this is just a picture of a castle and a mountain that says “Mt. Doogr” on top.” Black Mage stated, annoyed, “It looks like a 5-year-old threw a hissy-fit with their crayons.”

 

“And obviously the Elfland Prince can't spell too well either.” White Mage added, pointing to the label on the top page. Thief inspected it, and nearly freaked out.

 

“RM, TURN BACK! We've been going the wrong way!” Thief screamed, making Red Mage jump, “We're not going to Mt. Duegar! We're going to Mt. Doogr!” Both Black and White Mage stared at Thief in disbelief. Black Mage rolled up the “map” and whacked it over Thief's head.

 

“Do you only hear every other word? The prince was an idiot and misspelled the name! We're going the exact way we're supposed to!” Black Mage yelled. He turned to Red Mage, and for once was actually nice to him! “Keep going, RM. You're doing the right thing… this time.” Red Mage nodded and kept to his course. Of course, knowing he was doing good always makes his head swell, and he began to whistle, completely forgetting he was driving. Soon the ship, and our motley crew of heroes, smashed onto a beach.

 

“RM, WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!?” Black Mage asked angrily, spitting out sand as he lifted his head. Red Mage got up too, and shook his head, trying to get his hair sand-free.

 

“Sorry. The merry tunes from my soul distracted me.” Red Mage replied, “I won't let it happen again.” Black Mage scoffed and turned around to see what condition their boat was in. Thankfully it was still in one piece, although the anchor had smashed into a palm tree, but Black Mage could care less for that. Thief got up and looked around.

 

“Hey! We're here! This is it, guys! I'm almost sure of it!” Thief exclaimed excitedly, pointing to the big mountain in front of them.

 

“What the hell are you babbling about?” Black Mage asked, examining the outside of the ship with little interest.

 

“Mt. Duegar! We're near Mt. Duegar!” Thief said again. Red Mage chuckled.

 

“Hold on. Just because we landed on an island with a mountain doesn't mean we landed on Mt. Duegar.” Red Mage said, and to everyone's surprise, Black Mage agreed.

 

“For all we know, this could be some desolate island where Chaos himself resides.” Black Mage added, making Thief shiver. White Mage, however, was undaunted by the thought.

 

“If Chaos was really here, this place wouldn't look quite as cozy. I think we should go in the cave and just see where we are.” White Mage suggested, walking into said cave. The other three looked at each other, then decided it was best to follow. White Mage never steered them wrong before.

 

Inside the cave wasn't nearly as horrifying as Black Mage tried to make it seem. The tunnels were very large, it was surprisingly well-lit, and it didn't smell like brimstone or rotting bodies. Thief settled down when he heard men talking.

 

“Hey, what if there's like, a whole city here?” Thief asked, “What if the dwarves made an underground metropolis to rival Cornelia?”

 

“I'd be surprised if they did.” White Mage said, “It would take years, maybe even centuries, to reach that kind of population.”

 

“Yeah, especially since dwarves hate humans and almost never go to the outside world. Therefore getting the supplies needed would be an annoying task.” Red Mage added, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

 

“Who cares what's down here?” Black Mage asked, “They have what we need to get to Melmond. As long as I can get this quest going, I don't care what the hell I run into.” Black Mage waved his hand and stomped down the path, only to be blown back by a small explosion. He shivered and ran behind a crate. “What was that!?”

 

“I thought you said you didn't care what you ran into.” White Mage huffed, placing her hands ever so irritably on her hips. Black Mage cursed as she walked past to see what had set off the explosion. A tiny little man with a red beard hobbled by.

 

“Oh me, oh my! I hope I dinnae hurt ye good folk by me dynamite!” he said, as the four just stared at him, dumbstruck. Black Mage was the one to break the silence.

 

“Are you insane?! What the hell are you people thinking, setting off dynamite here!?” he yelled, making the dwarf jump. The dwarf turned around, dusting his soot-stained clothing off.

 

“We be digging a tunnel to Melmond, to see what we could do about the rotting o' the earth. But you see, we dinnae have any TNT, so our power sources are limited.” The dwarf explained, “But if you have any from the Cornelia City, that'd help.” Black Mage nearly screamed again.

 

“ARE YOU TELLING ME WE HAVE TO DRIVE BACK THERE!?” Black Mage screamed, waving his arms up and down angrily. The dwarf quickly shook his head.

 

“Oh, no, no, no! We be having a rare Warp Scroll that can take ye to the town. If we give it to ye, will ye be willing to get me the TNT?” the dwarf asked. Before Black Mage could protest, Red Mage agreed to help, and neither Thief nor White Mage objected.

 

“Wait a second! If you guys have a scroll to get you back into Cornelia, why the hell haven't you used it yet!?” Black Mage asked, raising an eyebrow. The dwarf coughed nervously.

 

“Ye see, we be no mages o' power, so the scroll won't work unless a mage uses it.” The dwarf told them. If they didn't need his help, Black Mage was sure he'd kill off all of the dwarves. Thief leaned on a rock.

 

“So, who's gonna use the scroll?” he asked. Everyone looked at each other in thought. Black Mage thought back to if there was any reason for them to go back, when he remembered the idiot king and his guards. Black Mage grinned evilly.

 

“I'll go.” He volunteered cheerfully, to everyone's surprise, “It's the best choice. I'm a Black Mage, so my magic will be more than enough to bring me there. All for the good of the team, after all, right?” This made everyone's eyes widen. White Mage even felt his forehead to make sure he wasn't sick.

 

“Well, if ye decided, it's best if we go outside. The scroll works best in open spaces, and it'll be quicker to the site of the blast.” The dwarf said, leading everyone outside again. Black Mage took the scroll and chanted the spell on it, disappearing from view.

 

“Think he'll be able to find the TNT?” Thief asked, as the ocean waves crashed against the sandy shores.

 

“Who knows?” Red Mage replied, taking off his hat, “But he'll be fine. I know he'll find it. And then we can save the…?” The three suddenly looked very upset as the Cornelian Coastline was spreading ablaze. People everywhere were screaming miserably. Black Mage warped back right at that moment.

 

“BM, what happened?” White Mage asked, too shocked to realize what Black Mage just did. Black Mage smiled nervously.

 

“It was horrible, guys! Uh… Garland was burning the place on fire! I didn't stand a chance alone! I… couldn't save anyone…” Black Mage sobbed, hoping his act would work. And it did. White Mage patted him sympathetically on the back.

 

“It's okay. We'll just go back and deal with him.” She said, walking to the boat until Black Mage stopped her.

 

“NO! I mean… By the time we'll get there, everything will be gone and Garland will have gotten away. I think we need to get to the Earth Cave first.” Black Mage lied, making Red Mage very suspicious.

 

“Why would we go there if he's causing trouble in Cornelia?” he asked. Black Mage was getting very frustrated by this time and smacked Red Mage.

 

“JUST DO WHAT I SAID! I mean, he said he was going to get the Earth Crystal and turn the place into Zombie central. Yeah, that's it!” Black Mage said. Thief shrugged.

 

“Well, we can't just sit and let that happen! Okay, Dwarf! Blow up the canyon and get us to Melmond!” Thief exclaimed. Black Mage snickered and handed the dwarf the TNT, and he hobbled to a small switch and set down the box.

 

“Everybody stand back! It be a big one!” he yelled, pushing a button. The earth shook as explosions erupted all around the island! When the dust cleared, the mountain was now in two. The dwarf had successfully blasted a canal through the mountain.

 

“Alright! Let's hit the road!” Thief said, jumping into the boat. Red and White Mage bid farewell to the dwarf, and they too got on as Black Mage lounged around on the deck.

 

“Aye, be careful! I hear there be problems in Melmond!” the dwarf called as the ship sailed through the canal.

 

The ride to Melmond was quiet and peaceful. Hardly anything had attacked them, and some pirates were nice enough to give directions to the next port. The only one who had a problem was Black Mage. He'd be chosen to be pilot this time, and he barely had any idea as to what he was doing.

 

“Okay, throw this and…” Black Mage pulled a lever and the ship sped up to an insane speed, throwing everyone nearly over the edge. Black Mage screamed and threw the lever back, controlling the ship's speed. Everything settled down quickly.

 

“BM, do you even know where you're going?” White Mage asked once she had gotten up from the sudden burst of speed.

 

“Yeah, yeah, go left until you see the tip of land then go up about 3 miles. I get it.” Black Mage mumbled, steering with a sense of boredom. Thief rolled up the small map from Elfland and used it as a periscope.

 

“Hey! I see it!” he shouted happily, pointing to the indicated dock. Black Mage grinned and made a sharp turn to get the spot before a neighboring merchant ship did.

 

“HA! In your face!” Black Mage taunted as the ship turned sadly to leave. White Mage sighed with disapproval as she stepped off the ship onto the dusty ground that was supposed to be the port. As they walked down the small dirt pathway, dust was kicked up everywhere, even from the tiniest step.

 

“Man, what's with this place?” Black Mage coughed, shielding his nose from the dusty onslaught.

 

“Well, the dwarves and the elves said this is where the first fiend, and the first crystal are. And we all know the fiends are draining the power of the crystals. Henceforth, the crystal here must be the earth crystal. Why else would there be no vegetation?” Red Mage explained, and he did have a point. There were no trees or flowers anywhere. Just vast, dead deserts as far as they all could see.

 

“Wait, this could just be a desert continent. How do we know for sure that the crystal is here?” Thief asked, stating another good point.

 

“Because deserts don't have rotting trees in them.” White Mage replied, “The dwarf said Melmond had problems. I just hope the town is in better shape than this.” The four continued down the path towards the small city. To everyone's dismay, it looked even worse than the port. Graveyards and tombstones littered everyone's' lawns, there were no trees, and the houses looked as though they were ready to collapse.

 

“Wow, this is even worse than we imagined…” Red Mage whispered.

 

“Could the fiend of earth really cause all of this?” White Mage asked.

 

“No…” came a sad voice, “It wasn't Lich, fiend of earth. It was a dreadful vampire. He came and rotted our earth dry as punishment for no offerings to resurrect Chaos. We've had almost no food.” The four turned around in surprise to come face-to-face with a doctor.

 

“And who are you?” Black Mage asked skeptically.

 

“Forgive me. I am Dr. Unne, scholar of ancient languages.” The man introduced himself, “I meant to study the habits of dwarves but somehow ended here, to this rotting abyss of a town.”

 

“We have to stop this! Even if it isn't Lich, we can't let this go!” Thief cried, tears running down his face, “No one deserves to go hungry because of an idiotic grudge of evil.”

 

“Thief… I know how you feel, but we don't even know where to go from here.” White Mage told him sadly. Red Mage looked down in shame. Even Black Mage was upset from the sight he saw.

 

“I do not know why you intend to stop the vampire, but if you must… He is deep in the Earth Cave, or Terra Cavern as the dwarves call it. He sits there, waiting for his offering, waiting for us to surrender to him.” Dr. Unne explained.

 

“Well, he'll get an “offer” all right…” Black Mage muttered, “Not even I can take such a horrible sight. Even if it goes against all I stand for, I'm going to kill it and restore this town!” The other three looked at Black Mage in surprise.

 

“B-BM?” they all asked in unison, shocked by Black Mage's sudden determination for good will.

 

“Thank you, and be careful. The cavern is full of horrifying creatures.” Dr. Unne said as the four began to leave the town for the cave. Black Mage huffed.

 

“Horrifying or stupid, it doesn't matter. We'll stop the vampire and save the town…”

 

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Wow, a new attitude on BM's part! So, our heroes are well on their way to a new Crystal and another quest for the world! Can they stop the vampire from draining the earth to dust? Is Lich the one who sent him? And did Fighter Bum Rush their hometown, leaving nothing but ruin and angst? Find out in the next chapter, so click that Review button!