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Destruction Preventer: Lunar Salvation	By : ChibiShiva Category: Final Fantasy Games > Final Fantasy II - V Views: 1327 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy IV, nor do I make money with this work. FFIV Copyright Square-Enix.

Chapter List
- 12
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Destruction Preventer – Lunar Salvation
Chapter 12 – Ordeals, Part 2

~

The little boy did not stop running, moving, skipping, casting spells... always active. Always on his toes.

Always talking and babbling about.

"Tellah, when did you become a sage?"

But the elderly man showed patience. He once had a daughter, though she was not as reckless as Palom, and not as calm as Porom. A part of him enjoyed this time spent with the youth, and even though the questions didn't stop, he saw no need to scold the boy. After all, he wanted to learn.

"I took nearly all my life. Learning and growing never stops. It's a constant process, and sometimes you have to move far to do so. And go through a lot."

Tellah had lost a lot; his parents when he was twenty-two, his wife nearly eleven years ago, and more recently, his only daughter.

That last one had been the hardest to stomach, by far.

"When were you born?"

And still, he found himself laughing out loud. "You don't want to know that, I'll scare you."

~

Hssssssss...

Porom stopped and stared at her brother, hands on her hips. "Stop doing that."

"I'm not doing anything!" Palom shouted.

Tellah stopped and gave the twins a chance to catch up. "Come on kids. The summit's not too far." The elderly man turned to Cecil and sighed. "Children. Always fighting."

Cecil shrugged. The twins didn't bother him one bit. "As long as they don't put themselves in danger because of it, I'm willing to block their squabbling out. And it makes things a bit livelier."

"If you don't make it as a paladin, no one will."

Of course it had been meant as a compliment, but underneath his helm, Cecil frowned. He often found himself with responsibilities – but this was by far the biggest he ever had.

"Stop it! Palom!"

"But it's not me! I swear it's not me!"

The girl shot him a death glare. She didn't believe him. Palom was born a troublemaker. If he tried to scare her, he failed at it.

"It might just be the wind," Cecil added, trying to sound casual. He had heard the hissing sound as well. "Or maybe one of these living dead trying to creep up on us."

But this area had been nearly void of enemies.

"Either ways, let's stop here for a moment. Maybe whatever is doing this will catch up to us, and we can eliminate it."

The four of them settled in a small area nested below a tall cliff. At this altitude, they might need to take breathers more often. Maybe this was a result of the lower oxygen level, the twin's tiredness, or a combination.

Cecil paid close attention to his surroundings. He kept his eyes peeled for snakes, goblins, or anything else remotely sentient. "I don't hear it anymore. Must've been the wind," he concluded as he fetched his water canteen.

But Porom didn't let go of ir. "I'm still sure it was Palom and he doesn't wanna get caught." Her tactic only fueled the boy.

"It's not me! I didn't do anything!"

~

"Everyone ready?" Cecil asked as he picked up his sword. He didn't sheath it, still on his toes.

The twins nodded. They had calmed down in the last fifteen minutes of their break. Palom strolled along the dark knight, setting enemies on fire whenever he saw hands move, or heard footsteps behind him. Even Porom lended a hand in the undead killing – seemed those creatures were also weak to healing.

Mount Ordeal's highest peak wasn't too far off anymore. But they were now faced with a wooden bridge, held by simple rope.

Tellah gulped, his eyes scanning the planks. "Doesn't look safe..."

"Agreed. I'll go first."

The sage brought Cecil back towards him. "No! We need you to survive. If anything, let me go first. I'm but an old man..."

Normally, Cecil would have argued the man down. He was the knight, the protector. Having to stand back and let everyone else do the work was not his idea of repenting... let alone save the world. "Fine,"��he muttered, arms crossed over his chest.

He carefully watched as the older man stepped on the planks. The bridge whined under his feet, but it didn't snap. "So far so good, young folks. Looks like we might be able to make it through this."

Hssss....

The white mage turned and faced her brother. If something was going to snap in her mind, it was her twin's neck. "Palom!"

But the boy groaned back at her. "I'm telling you, it's not me! Stop accusing me!"

"Then what is it?!"

Cecil rolled his eyes and sighed. These two never stopped. "Children..."

Hsssssss...

Alert, he turned around. The twins were still arguing, but he could hear the noise. "It's not Palom."

Porom gawked at the dark knight. Surely it had to be her brother. "Then-...?"

Tellah slowly backtracked. By his jittery walk, something had disturbed him. "Don't you feel it? This... evil presence which surrounds us..."

"Such a pleasure I will take in delivering your poor souls to Hell!"

Cecil spun around. His grip on his sword tightened in preparation for what was to come. What he saw chilled him to the bones.

Right on the bridge, where Tellah had stood seconds ago, a cloaked figure had materialized. The creature's stench made it to his nose; his only desire was to bend over and puke his stomach out. But there was no backing out now. Not so close to his goal.

"I am the one who will bring you to the gates of Hell, for I am Golbez's sworn servant! Fear Scarmiglione, Archfiend of Earth...!" The frame roared, fingers clenched in the air, but remained in place. "Come, my minions..."

Four ghouls rose from the very ground under them. Palom was knocked down, but quickly made it back to his feet. For a moment, Cecil expected the boy to cry about a scratched knee and cower somewhere safe.

Bearing a large grin, Palom reduced the ghoul to ashes. "Betcha this dude catches on fire too!"

The other ghouls barely reached the party. The last one took a slow swipe at Tellah and missed. The elder raised a brow and immolated the undead man.

Once the zombie wave was taken care of, their focus switched to Scarmiglione. Like the other undead inhabiting the area, Cecil proved to be of little use in a fight against the fiend, and was reduced to a dark, spiky meat shield.

All three mages fared much better than he did. Their main problem was to avoid Scarmiglione's hits; often concentrated on their spells, they were be unaware of what came towards them, or couldn't react on time. But they had Cecil on their side.

"FIRA!"

Scarmiglione rushed towards Cecil as Tellah cast his spell – the knight felt the heat through his armor. Distracted, he was knocked back by the foe. Both Tellah and Porom were already preparing their next attacks; fighting was getting harder. His armor prevented him from getting to his feet. Even his sword felt heavy in his right hand.

And the creature's foul smell made his stomach churn. It towered over him. Red eyes glowered in the dark of the cloak.

There was a hoarse roar. The figure over him writhed in agony, and simply disappeared.

His heart still pounded in his chest, and his hand held the dark sword firmly, as if he would get hit again. The fear nearly paralyzed him, and he could still feel the odd stench over his own body. He didn't even hear Porom's healing prayer.

Slowly but surely, Cecil got back to his feet. Disgusted, he lifted his visor up and allowed himself to breathe the cool mountain air. Much better.

"Let's get to the other side..." he managed to utter.

But something still bothered him, a lingering feeling in the air...

The twins were already on the bridge. He turned around as if to make sure Scarmiglione was really gone.

Tellah went before him. The rope bridge held up.

So he stepped up.

They weren't even halfway when a sickened, earthy laugh echoed in their ears.

"I shall see you all in HELL!"

The swipe came at him too fast to avoid. Cecil found himself flat on his stomach, unable to see exactly what attacked him.

Judging from Palom's scream, it wasn't good news.

But he still couldn't get up. Something pinned him to the ground. A fetid breath washed over him. He fought against nausea.

He couldn't help the look of utter surprise – and disgust on – on his face. Bulging death-glazed eyes stared at him. The creature's skin was similar to mold, a sickening brown-green, decrepit color. Bones protruded from his back, arms and legs. It hunched over and threw up a green substance in his direction. Cecil shook the thick liquid off his legs and brought his visor down. No way he was going to expose himself to... whatever it was.

If the substance had no effect on him, the fumes did. His vision blurred, the nausea came back, his head spun wildly. He saw Tellah mumbling something, but he couldn't understand what was said.

The twins were focusing on the creature, fearless. They cast spell after spell, while all Cecil could do was stand there – or try to – and block hits. His weapon barely did any damage. At least, he had the sage and the white mage to back him up.

Things started to turn sour when Scarmiglione knocked Palom back. The boy landed on the ground, immobile for a minute. Dizzy, he got up, but barely had energy. His spell missed its target by two feet or so.

Porom gasped as her brother fell to the ground. She tried to reach out for him. The move left her exposed. Scarmiglione took a lazy swipe at her; she was sent flying in the air.

Cecil jumped and ran out in the open. His goal was to divert the Archfiend's attention. Tellah could take care of the twins. Cecil found himself in front of the foe's ugly, mangled face. A pair of glazed eyes stared at him. The creature's toothless mouth opened and released another putrid, fuming stream toward him. He stood in it, hoping his armor wouldn't melt under the acid jet.

Tellah didn't miss a beat. Eyes closed, he collected himself. He chanted a spell. The soft light over Porom's body didn't draw Scarmiglione's attention, nor did the tiny, winged humanoid being coming down from the sky. The light intensified as the girl's body lifted in the air, and faded as she softly landed.

From the corner of his eyes, Cecil saw her squirm. She would be okay.

Porom sat up, then got to her knees. Like Tellah, the girl frowned and cast her spell. Her brother was back on his feet under a minute, but just like Porom, he felt weak and couldn't even stand up. Tellah took a moment to heal them.

Palom, back on his feet, grinned mischievously. He bent his head over, in deep concentration. Scarmiglione was about to swipe at him when he was met with a brilliant, sparkly white light. From the back, Porom smiled.

Exhausted, Tellah groaned. He fetched a tiny bottle from his satchel and drank its contents. The strange liquid sent a burst of energy in his blood, and gave him enough power to heal Cecil.

"Palom, NO!"

His twin looked horrified... and neither Tellah or Cecil could spot Palom.

A small flash of white and red sped up and passed him. Palom hurled an oversized fire ball at the fiend. Scarmiglione stepped backwards to avoid the blow.

Except he had no more ground. His feet slipped from the wooden bridge, followed by the rest of his decaying body.

The last thing they heard was the creature growling and howling as it met its doom and splattered to the ground below, a mess of red, brown and green.

Porom ran up to him and smacked him. Hard. "You could have missed your shot! You could have fallen!" Then she hugged him. "But you didn't! I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Well, if I hadn't done it... we'd still be fighting that thing. Now Cecil can become a holy knight!" Palom's grin must have been easy to spot from one of Baron's airship. "Right huh? No way that he can climb back up. You can see his bones and insides-"

Tellah pushed the boy with his hands, inviting him to move along. "Okay, okay. Let's go."

~

Unbelievable.

Or rather, too believable for his own tastes.

Golbez glowered at the minions standing in front of him. Scarmiglione had failed. To avoid more suspicions, he'd have to wait to try and scavenge whatever remained of the Earth Archfiend. Which meant he'd have to let Cecil Harvey become a paladin. Anger spread right through his veins at the thought. The boy would now be even more powerful, and he did not need this at all.

He had one more plan, and he hoped this one wouldn't fail.

The minions' presence angered him even more. "Get out!" he blared, his deep voice bouncing off the room's walls and rang back in his ears. He needed something to keep him busy; or someone, rather. He stormed out of the room, leaving the few guards posted at the door flabbergasted. Golbez wasn't the one to lose his temper easily, but when he did...

He rushed to his own quarters, eyes squinted, brows furrowed. Earlier he had ordered Kain to shower and wait for him in the room they shared. He knew the boy was most likely still cleaning himself, but he needed this. Now.

He rushed to the bathroom door and flung it open. The shower was still running, as predicted. He yanked the shower curtains down, exposing its lone occupant.

"What the..."

Kain yelped as he was dragged out of his warm water cocoon and into the cold. He was nearly slammed into the nearest wall as Golbez made a turn towards his own bedroom, and landed on the bed, flat on his stomach. The blow knocked air out of his lungs, and for a brief moment, he was unable to breathe.

Behind him, pieces of armor fell to the floor with loud clangs. The bed squeaked as Golbez climbed on it.

Kain gasped as the older man penetrated him. Pain flared in his backside, slightly lessened by the water. He tried to turn his head to the right, then to the left, but Golbez pinned him down with his large hand, at the base of his neck.

Yet, he didn't fight back. Golbez had never been a sensual partner. But this time, it was too much. His assailant pushed in again. Kain let a scream out. His fingers clutched to the satin sheets under him. His lips formed a pained snarl, baring his teeth.

Golbez' weight crushed him. He remained immobilized. He slowly lost feelings in his arms and legs and soon enough, his vision grayed out. He couldn't even utter a single word. He came to a complete stop.

His situation wasn't any help. The warlock's powerful thrusts didn't relent, while his large hands didn't move from his neck and back. Kain's world spun around in gray swirls. He tried thrashing, but his limbs would not respond.

But he refused to beg for more room, for release. He'd bear the pain, the dizziness, the humiliation of being a toy.

He'd prove to Golbez he was worthy.

Kain's eyelids grew heavier with every passing second. Golbez' grunts were distorted and unnatural to his ears.

By the time the man came inside him, his world was a black, foggy mass.

~

Kain was alone in the room when he came to. He felt incredibly tiny in the large bed, made to accommodate Golbez' massive frame. He was about to get up and clean himself – again – when the warlock entered his room. The man carried a plate food, along with a nice cup of coffee.

"Eat and drink. You'll need it later on."

The words lacked emotion. Kain forced himself to overcome it. After all, why did he expect Golbez to apologize?

He pushed the thought away.

Kain sat up, took the plate and settled it on his lap. The fork he held barely touched his lips, before Golbez spoke up again.

"I want you to head to Baron. Tomorrow morning. Should Cagnazzo fail, your task will be to meet with Cecil and tell him the terms of our trade."

"Understood, my lord."

Golbez smirked. He loved hearing this line from his pet. To make sure of his success, he gave the boy an incentive. "If you succeed at your task, I'll let you deal with Cecil yourself."

Kain's blue-gray eyes lit up. That was more than enough. There was something he had wanted to show the man for a long time... "I will."

~ To be continued...

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Destruction Preventer: Lunar Salvation