Winds of Gaia : A FF Tale

[Nero D. Ace]

PART I - CLASHES

First Clash : The Round Robin

“... Fire and Ice are polar opposites. Two of the basic elements of nature, several Mages have built their entire knowledge upon these two conflicting forces, branching them into powerful Fira and Blizzara spells. Little is it known that they were actually discovered by accident by a scientist named Cid who ...”

“Son of a ...!”, Iki swore under his breath. “The geezer's gonna tell ANOTHER Cid story!”

“Will you for the love of Odin keep it down!?”, Oblivia, who was sitting next to him snapped. “Unlike you, this is actually gonna be my life.”

“What? The tale of how Cid the 324th discovered Fire?”, Iki sneered.

Oblivia said nothing and calmly made some rune signs to light a fire under Iki's seat.

“YOWWWCHH!!!”, Iki sprang to the sky like a rabbit. “HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT!!!!”

“Exactly, Master Tribal!”, the teacher beamed at him. “The conclusion that Cid arrived at after performing his experiment was that fire was hot! I wish other students would be as attentive as you.”

Just then, the roar of the Fire Bird was heard and class was dismissed.

“Alright class.”, the teacher said. “Remember to prepare fore next week's test on how Cid the 289th made his airship. References from the “Journal of Cid the 311th” are welcome but now mandatory.”

“Thank BAHAMUT that's over with!”, Iki stretched his back as he and Oblivia stepped out of the 'Magick Historius' classroom. “What's next on schedule?”

Oblivia took out some runes from her backpack and examined them. “I'll have to wait.”, she said, her face in a scowl. “Locke just sent a message. They're starting the Round Robin and they're two guys short.”

“A Round Robin?”, Iki stared at her. “What was that again?”

“Holy Ifrit, you're hopeless, aren't you? Don't you remember when Grand Master Tuff made that announcement last week ...”

“HAHA! Tuff! It's been 3 years but that guy's name still makes me laugh!”

“Tuff is the name of Cid the 34th pet hamster. It's a name to be proud of, okay!”

“HAHAHA! Hamster!”

Oblivia palmed her face.

“Let's just get to the Arena. You can bug Locke with those half-assed question.”

“What half-assed questions?”

Oblivia summoned a ball of fire into her palm.

“Sometimes i think you do this just to annoy me.”

Iki paled. “Okay okay. Sheesh. A guy can't even make a joke anymore.”

The “Arena of Majestics” was a testament to the holy family of Alexandria, those blessed by Alexander, one of the 3 reigning God Eidolons.

Every 6 months, one of the two neighboring countries would send their bravest, toughest warriors to do battle with those from Alexandria in a show of unity and strength.

Behind the scenes, they were just a distraction to allow the representatives from different countries to hold meeting in the utmost secrecy.

The previous Arena Battle against the country of Lindlum had been one of shame for Alexandria, when their entire party had been utterly defeated in battle by just one man.

Needless to say, they weren't going to allow the same to happen in the battle against Cleyra.

However, some strange events in the past course of weeks had caused 3 of the 5 party members to succumb to illness, leaving the Committee to hurriedly gather warriors to take their place.

The nephew of the Emperor, Anras Locke was nominated to lead the party and given 2 weeks to complete his team for the battle.

2 weeks have passed and the Battle is about to begin ...

“Ohhhhh!”, Iki nodded. “So THAT'S what the Arena is.”

Oblivia trembled uncomfortably, anger in her eyes. “Do NOT push it”

“See what I meant about the jokes?”, Iki nudged Locke. “She gets really moody at times.”

“THAT'S IT!!!”

Oblivia took out her Staff. “Prepare to be incinerated!”

Before she could fire the spell, Locke held up his hand.

“Save it for the Battle”, he said. “You two are taking part in the Round Robin.”

“We WHAT!?”, Oblivia gasped.

“Okay.”, Iki said.

“IDIOT!”, Oblivia hit Iki on the head. “Do you even KNOW what a Round Robin is!?”

Locked sighed.

“A Round Robin is a type of battle in which both parties send in 5 people to fight. 1 person from each party can fight another just once. Both parties have to assign an alphabet from “A” to “E” before the match begins to the official. After that, the “A” from both parties do battle in the Arena. The one who wins attains a point for his/her party. The first party to get 3 points will win.”

“Okaaaay. So, I just have to fight?”, Iki asked.

“Uh ... basically, yeah.” Anras replied.

“Cool! I'm in!”

“Well, you can count me out.”, Oblivia said, heading out. “Tell the Grand Master I refuse to take part.”

“Whatsa matter, Oby? Chicken?”, Iki taunted.

Oblivia stopped dead in her tracks and turned around, fire in her eyes.

“NOBODY ... CALLS ... ME ... CHICKEN!!!”

“Works EVERY time.”, Iki said, hiding behind Locke.

“Whatever gets this started.”, Locke said. “The other two guys on the party can't fight for crap so it's basically up to us to win our battles. I'll be A. Oblivia will go after me and you can handle the third one. I'm sure they'll send the strongest one out first so you won't have too much pressure.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”, Iki grumbled.

“Very well, let the ROBIN BEGIN!!!”, Locke bellowed.

---

---

Nice to finally start it. This is gonna be an amalgam of Final Fantasy and various anime.

P.S. I don't expect many to get the Cid joke but it's something that's bugged me for quite a while that every game has a guy called Cid. Are they all related or something? Whatever. Also, the thing with the "Holy Bahamut" and "Ifrit" and all that might only be gotten by FF players, seeing as they're summons. i thought it'd be nice to use em in swear words. Saves me from the censor board, eh?

Edited October 16, 2012 by Emotional Outlet

[† Anras Rune]

lol iki...the cid bits are funny...lol

also you confused the hell out of me when you done this thread...hmm...

but keep it up!

[Oblivia]

Hehehe, i love your style of writing! xD And funneh! Especially meh almost putting you on fire, but you knew i would like it... xD And found it weird with the Cid thing also, so i liked teh numbering xD. Great touch with the curse words.

[Rezin King]

good read mate it is smashing and hey oblivia think you could use your fir to cook me some meat then make me a sandwhich lol jus kidding and iki nice ff references mabey you should do one on how a lot of final fantasy have alot of the same life forms and creatures but yet arent on the same world or dimension

[Nero D. Ace]

Second Clash : The Summoners Battle

“THE CAPTAINS HAVE MADE THEIR DECISIONS!”, a voice came out of the loudspeaker as the Arena roared to life, each of the gathered citizens lusting for blood, all reason and morality abandoned.

The Arena was considered both a boon as well as a bane, providing revenue and income to many while at the same time being the venue of constant bloodshed. Shaped in the form of a dome, it had the potential to house 60,000 people, not including the royal family and V.I.P.'s who were seated high above, floating on the clouds through the use of Aero spells.

And in the middle of the Arena was the Battleground, an area of 25 acres, shaped in a circle, which at the moment was a plain desert but with the help of certain technological modifications via switches could turn into a wide variety of areas with diverse climates so as to maximize the entertainment of the crowd.

“Listen to them roar.”, Iki spoke from the Northern edge of the border. “It's like they've been waiting for this for the last six months.”

“Our people have a reputation for being violent and blood-thirsty.”, Locke replied while putting on his royal robes. “We are descendants of the great Alexander after all.”

“None as violent as the royal family though.”, Oblivia sneered.

“Watch you tongue!”, Locke stared at her. “We may be equals on the Battlefield but do not forget that you are in the presence of royalty!”

Oblivia grudgingly lowered her head.

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEEENNNNN!!!!”, the voice came out of the speaker again. “THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE. THE ROBIN WILL NOW COMMENCE!!!”

“It's time.”, Locke muttered as he crossed the bridge connecting the Northern side, where their base camp was to the Arena. From the opposite side, another man, dressed in attire similar to Locke also made his way.

“LADIES AND GENTLEEEMENN!!! THE FIRST ROUND OF TODAY'S ROBIN :- PLEASE PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER FOR HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS – THE MIGHTY PRINCE ANRAS LOCKE!!!”

“It's another ...”, Oblivia gazed at Locke's opponent.

“... AND HIS HIGHNESS'S OPPONENT – ONE OF EQUAL STATURE, TRULY FIT TO STAND IN THE RING WITH OUR PRINCE ... SIR WILLIAM OF CLEYRA!!!”

All at once, the crowd erupted.

“Sir William ...?”

“Surely not THE Sir William ...”

“That man is a beast!”

“I heard he took out an entire army on his own once.”

“This isn't fair! This is supposed to be an exhibition, not a slaughter!”

“William ... of Cleyra?”, Locke stuttered. He had not been prepared for this. He had expected the opposition to send someone strong but this was just uncalled for! He was nowhere near

the league of a legend like William.

But he couldn't step back now. This had been his decision and he had to stick with it. He had to lead his party to victory. For the sake of their pride, he would not lose!

“This should be interesting, at least ...”, he cracked his knuckles in anticipation and continued moving.

It was time to show these desert-monglers the pride of the Alexandrians!

“THE FIRST ROBIN WILL BE A 'CLASH OF WILL' BATTLE!”, the announcer spoke.

The ground of the Arena started shaking and strange mechanical devices erupted out of it, changing the very landscape of the battlefield, engulfing the area with dust.

“AWESOME!”, Iki yelled.

“That's the latest invention of Alexandria.”, Obilivia said. “A combination of Air and Metal magic to give life to steel itself, willing it to perform the job of a hundred men a hundred times faster!”

“Whatever, it just looks cool. I wish I could see through all that dust, though.”

Shortly afterwards, the dust settled to reveal a lush green forest.

“WHOA! How the hell did that happen!?”

“That's the power of Sky magic, in co-ordination with Air magic, accelerating the natural process of growth beyond imagination.”

“We actually HAVE stuff like this ... AND THAT OLD GEEZER STILL MAKES US PLANT VEGGIES!?”

“The acceleration process takes its toll on the soil, rendering it useless for a whole year.”

“That's ... pretty inconvenient.”

“THE RULES OF THIS ROBIN ARE SIMPLE! IT IS A BATTLE TO THE DEATH OR UNTIL ONE PROCLAIMS DEFEAT! THE ENTIRE JUNGLE IS THE BATTLEFIELD AND ATTEMPTING TO ESCAPE THE ARENA WILL BE A DQ, LEADING TO A LOSS FOR THE PARTY! ALL MAGIC AND WEAPON SKILLS ARE ALLOWED!”, the announcer spoke. “NOW, WITHOUT ANY FURTHER ADO, LET THE BATTLES BEGIN!!!”

Locke had taken a few steps into the Arena earlier, so that he would be in the middle of it when the transformation began, giving him an advantage of sight over his opponent. He had taken refuge on a Redwood Tree as soon as it had erupted, giving him sight over the entire battlefield.

A direct onslaught would be suicide, he thought. I need to get in his blind spot and take him out with a quick eidolon strike. If i let him see me, it'll be ...

“Over?”, a voice said from behind him.

Locke took 5 steps forward on instinct and turned, to see ... no one.

“Your reflexes are weak. I would expect that from a spoiled prince.”

“What?”, Locke turned one again to see a barrage of flames come flying at him.

Damn!

“SHIVA!”, he yelled and called upon the spirit of Shiva, Empress of Ice.

A large shrad of ice formed between him and the flames, eventually melting away to a puddle of water.

“So ...”, William said. “You still need to call out their names, do you?”

Locke took a look at his face and froze.

This man, WHAT is he!?

“Little punk.”, the man stepped into the light, revealing a face completely filled with scars on the left and burnt away on the right. “Seems you won't even be a warm-up.”

---

---

I dunno about the rest of you but without even meaning to, whenever i try and picture this William guy, the only one i can think of is Jecht. If that's the case, Locke is in a real tight bind, wouldn't ya agree? ;D

[† Anras Rune]

must i say it? i thiink i will...CLIFFHANGER!!

lol...i wanted to see if i'd die or not...oh well

till the next one...XD

[† Shazi]

damn iki! nice work. eargerly awaiting what happens next =P i really enjoy all the references, they make me laugh coz i get them XD

[Nero D. Ace]

Third Clash : The Difference Between You and Me

Damn!, thought Locke. I can't go toe to toe with this guy. He'll crush me like a bug! And why is his face all burnt-up like that!?

“Royal Prince or no Royal Prince ...”, William glowed in a blaze of fire. “I won't lose to the likes of a pesky little runt like you.”

With that, he threw 5 balls of flame hurling towards Locke.

“Ramuh!”, Locke yelled, summoning forth the Lord of the Rain, extinguishing the flames before they could get anywhere near them.

This is too close for comfort. I need to put some distance between us.

“Ifrit!”, Locke once again called upon the eidolons, summoning the vicious Hellfire demon Ifrit, who could burn everything away.

William simply sighed. “A little punk like you is simply outta my league. Calling out their names is like announcing when you're gonna attack, which give me ...”

He waved his hand in front of the demon and a shard of ice developed around it, cloaking it till it froze completely and eventually began to melt.

“... enough time to call out an eidolon which can match yours in terms of strength AND technique.”

“COMBUST!”, Locke called as he retreated.

“What!?”, William said as the frozen Ifrit erupted, causing the melting ice to cover the entire surroundings with steam, severely limiting both Summoner's eyesight.

“Damn! Shoulda known you'd resort to dirty tricks.”, William spoke, trying to squint through the steam.

That was close, Locke thought as he took refuge behind a row of bushes. This guy has truly mastered the Art of the Summoners. To think that one could actually summon them without calling on their names ... I must persevere, for the sake of the team. They're counting on me!

“Sooooo ...”, Iki said. “If Locke loses, we're free to go?”

“Eh? I thought you were itching to fight.”, Liv replied.

“Awww! But I wanted to fight that guy!”

“He's a summoner. You wouldn't last 10 seconds against him. Anyways, if he DOES lose, there won't be any point in us fighting since the other 2 guys on the team are a bunch of wussies.”

“Speaking of those two, where are they?”, Iki looked around.

“They're hanging ... somewhere. It should teach them not to peek in the women's locker.”, Liv said, her eyes closed.

...

“THERE'S A WOMEN'S LOCKER HERE!?”

This is the best opportunity I'll get.

“It's time to come out ...”, he whispered as he stared at William from atop a tree, the leaves providing excellent camouflage.

After the steam had settled, it had taken some time for William to get his bearings and begin tracking his opponent down.

Locke had been on the move ever since, continuously moving his position and leaving false trails behind. The only way to defeat his opponent was a quick, silent, powerful attack.

It's all or nothing now. I've already used up too much energy summoning three of the major eidolons in less than an hour. If I can land this next hit, I might very well defeat him. It's taken me a long time to gather the energy but I can finally do it now.

“Come out ...”, he whispered again. “Mightiest of all Eidolons, Ruler of these sacred lands – MIGHTY ALEXANDER!”, he finished with a scream.

Locke was surrounded by a surreal Pale Blue flame, which he started focussing in his palm.

Now or Never!

“So that was your plan, eh?”, William turned to face him, a heavy smile on his face. “I didn't think you had this kinda strength OR guts. But let me show you the difference between you and me.”

William raised his hand into the sky and became enveloped by a Crimson Red flame. “BAHAMUT, LORD OF DRAGONS!”

This is it!

Locke and William simultaneously directed their palms at one another and fired off a wave of energy.

The waves clashed and for a few moments, all motion stopped as everyone leaned forward in their seats to await what would happen ...

What would happen? lol, just kidding. I figured out a way to finish this battle a while ago but with all the stuff i'm writing these days and with the mental block i had a few days ago, it was hard to put it down.

[† RazorDan]

oh my god, another CLIFFHANGER! loving it iki, keep it up

[† Anras Rune]

O.o...damn you iki...and these fooking cliffies!!!!!!

lol...keep it up, i want to see if i die or not!

[† Shazi]

Cliffhanger! are you for reals?? awwwwwwww have to wait for the next one then

[Nero D. Ace]

Fourth Clash : Blue Blood

“ARGHHH!!!”, Locke screamed in agony as his body and the entire jungle surrounding him burst into flames. It was the flames of Bahamut, mightiest of dragons, the one eidolon who could set the entire world ablaze with fire if allowed to.

“The Prince!”, the crowd roared.

“This is a disaster!”

“He should never have gone against that murderous freak!”

And on the other side of the stands ...

“GO WILLIAM!”

“You showed that punk who's boss!”

“No way these Lexies can stand up to the mighty Cleyran warrior.”

Meanwhile, in the Alexandrian base camp,

“So, is it over?”, Iki asked.

“Seems like it.”, Liv replied, squinting into the flames. “Oooh, he's gonna get a nasty sun-burn.”

“Oh well,”, Iki picked up his weapons. “Looks like we get the day off, after all.”

“Hang on a second ...”

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!!”, the loudspeaker roared to life once more. “YOUR CHAMPION – HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS, ANRAS LOCKE!”

This announcement gave rise to the longest pause in the battle, until finally ...

“WOO-HOO!”, Iki yelled. “That's Locke for ya, the guy remembered to bribe the MC ...”

This was followed by a quick smack to the head.

“Ouccchh ...”

Liv cracked her knuckles. “Damn idiot. Bribing the MC is no good when the match is being watched by this many.”

“Uhh, you may have a point, but still ...”

“Shhh, he's talking again.”

“This is certainly interesting.”, William said, looking at his surroundings and then the smoldering piece of flesh that was once his opponent. “Looks like you had brains after all ... punk.”

With that, he turned around and walked back to the Cleyran base camp.

The Cleyran crowd roared.

“This is cheating. Those Lexies are trying to steal his thunder ...”

“Blasphemy! We won't tolerate this ...”

And as William took his first step towards them, a loud CLANG! could be heard echoing in the Arena.

“Clang? But that means ...”

And that's when they saw it ...

William was not in the Battle Area anymore. He was 10 feet away from any semblance of the forest. Result – Automatic DQ.

“That cheeky bastard ...”, a Cleyran robed man said, a smirk on his face.

“He never intended to defeat William, simply to knock him out of the Arena and win by DQ.”, spoke another robed man, his face hidden in the shadows.

“Well, this is certainly a nuisance.”, the first man took off his hood and revealed an angular, muscular face. “I had hoped to see that Royal ass of a prince killed today.”

“Settle down, Shiro.”, the second man said. “In some ways, this is good. Killing one of the royal family is something perhaps even William couldn't have gotten away with.

“Whatever, my turn now.”, Shro replied, his white hair gleaming in the sunlight.

“However, It's strange ...”, the second man said, almost to himself, gazing at the Arena. There was absolutely no sign of any blood, not red blood at least. “This one truly bleeds blue.”

“Ow ow ow ow ow ow ...”, Locke moaned in pain back at the Alexandrian camp. “That psycho nearly burned my skin off.”

“Hmm, I got an idea.”, Iki said, splashing a bucket of water on Locke's back, causing him to leap 10 feet into the sky.

“YOOWWCHHH!!!”

Liv palmed her face. “Could you at least try to pain attention in class sometimes?”

“That's strange.”, Iki stroked his chin. “Water is the opposite of fire, ain't it?”

“You don't splash ice cold water on a guy who's been burned halfway to hell.”

“Really? Another Cid theory?”

“No, just common sense ...”, Lic picked up her staff. “Anyways, my turn now.”

[† Anras Rune]

ouch....sunburn...lol

and i bleed blue? what the hell am i a mu? lol

keep....em....coming!