Disclaimer: All rights for the Final Fantasy series goes to Square Enix. This story is a fan fiction in this franchise universe, categorized under fan fiction.
This story is obviously fiction. This story will also involve sexual and intimate relationships between two (or more) males, and if this offends you or it is illegal for you to be reading, then please leave. If you are under the age of consent for your community, please leave. And if it does offend you, I honestly don't know why you're even here in the first place. I mean, seriously. Come on.
I
Prelude
General Morta's cruel black boots echoed on the wide metal floor. The sound of a klaxon rang throughout the airship, and suddenly there was an outpour of noise: rabble from the pilots. Tense whispers from the men at the cannons. Vicious arguments between the heated soldiers, forced to wander through the halls.
He folded his hands behind his back, walking to the edge of the bridge, peering through the enormous wall of glass to the far-away earth below. Over the barrage of sound, General Morta's astute ears perked at the squeaky opening door. He turned around.
First entered the Black Wizard. His glowing yellow eyes flickered through the strange shadows under his tall steepled hat. His dark-blue jacket was unbuttoned, revealing the fancy tunic and pinstriped pants customary of the Black Art Order. Not an inch of skin was revealed to the air, and his leather gloved hands grasped a wrinkled oak staff taller than himself. As he took his place at the back of the bridge, he briefly pulled his hat lower over his eyes, lending the illusion of non-chalance.
The White Wizard followed in suit, closing the heavy iron door behind him. His face was hidden under a hood. His long, baggy robe trailed to the ground, a light, pure white material with crimson red triangles adorning the edges. He barely grasped his staff with his delicate bare hands, a lighter cypress staff with a clear orb at the top. The White Wizard took his place next to the Black Wizard.
General Morta approached them, arms outstretched. "Gentlemen. Glad you could make it."
"We came because you ordered us, sir." The Black Wizard said, a touch sarcastic. His voice was deep and dark.
"There is a matter that needs attention." General Morta turned again and motioned them to the window. The wizards followed his lead, going down the stairs and perching at the railing before the glass. General Morta addressed them, but continued to train his gaze on the far away ground the airship hovered over. "Do you see where we are?"
What little that could be seen of the White Wizard's face reflected off of the glare of the glass. He peered further down, through a cover of clouds. A beacon of bright blue light flashed below them, atop a tower. He recognized it instantly. "Mysidia." he said, breathlessly. The White Wizard lifted his head to General Morta, looking a touch insulted. "Why weren't we informed of the new coordinates?"
General Morta raised an eyebrow. "I don't need to tell my wizards everything. Why do you care so much where we head, hm?" The White Wizard shut his mouth and drew back. The General smiled knowingly. "So that leads me to the reason I called you to the bridge." He did not move from his place, but he tapped the steel toes of his boots on the metal floor, creating a distracting clanging noise that made the White Wizard flinch. "You two remember the relic we picked up back in the Kilike Mountain Range, correct? Void, of course you do. You lead the team."
Void, the Black Wizard, nodded. "You mean the rose, sir."
"Yes. Yes, the rose. It's truly magnificent, is it not? But I finally figured it out! Finally! How to use it, I mean." General Morta held his gloved hands out, and made wild gestures to mime his words. "I messaged the Queen. We came to an agreement and decided exactly what the best use for the rose is."
"Sir, the potential that the rose-" Void started. But the General cut him off.
"You two did find the incantation to unlock it, did you not?"
Void and the White Wizard exchanged worried glances. The White Wizard spoke softly. "Yes sir. But the magical energy it would release upon blooming would destroy the entire airship, and who knows what else."
Void slowly nodded behind him. "General. We suggest hiding the rose back where we found it. Such power is dangerous."
A smile crawled to the General's lips. "Such power is indeed dangerous. Which is why it should belong in the hands of the Impirium."
"What are you saying, sir?" the White Wizard asked, hastily.
General Morta frowned. "We have recently acquired the technology needed to manipulate and contain magical force, no matter how strong. Coupled with the power of the rose, we can divert the power into a superweapon- destroy any who stand in our way!"
"General Morta, what you are condoning is mass murder." the White Wizard said, shaking his head. "You have no idea the power of that you would unleash. The queen would not-"
"The queen ordered me to do this." General Morta pointed to Mysidia down below. "Mysidia, the town of mages, has been aiding rebel forces! Undermining the Great Impirium! It will be tolerated no longer! They will receive their proper retribution."
The White Wizard gasped. "This is madness! You would be destroying an entire city!"
"No. You would." The White Wizard averted his eyes. General Morta cracked his neck. "Say the incantation. Open the rose, now." No response. "That is a direct order. You know the chant, say it!"
"Sir, I cannot-"
"Why? Hm? Anyone loyal to the Dostravi Imperium would comply with speed! Tell me..." General Morta approached the White Wizard. He brought his gloved hand to the White Wizard's face, whose eyes were still pasted to the floor. "Is it because you don't actually hail from Calledone? Because you're actually from Mysidia?" The White Wizard bit his lip, swallowing. General Morta touched his left cheek with the back of his right hand. "Hm. And is it because you're actually an insurgent?!" With sudden swiftness General Morta drew his arm back and smacked the White Wizard with the back of his fist. His staff clanged to the floor and the White Wizard fell to the metal ground, giving a small cry in pain.
Void rushed to the White Wizard and helped him to his feet. He looked up, furious. "General!" Void growled.
General Morta wagged his finger at the White Wizard, who was still struggling to stand. "Prove to me that you are loyal! Prove you are not a rebel by saying the chant!"
A tense silence lingered over the three of them. The White Wizard fumbled forward, still wincing from the pain. He picked his staff up, and clutched it in his hands. "Light... swift light..." Void, behind him, seemed to perk up, but after a split second returned his empty glowing gaze to the ground.
"What are you waiting for?! Say it!" The General yelled.
The White Wizard swallowed. His face hardened in resolve, and his clutch tightened around his staff. "Swift wind, sweep me away to the heavens! Teleport!"
General Morta's eyes widened in anger. "No! Stop him!" But it was too late. Blue wind and white light flashed around the White Wizard, and he was gone.
A technician at one of the stations to the right of the bridge stood up from his seat. He yelled in General Morta's direction, eyes wide with fright. "General Morta! There's a disturbance in the Rose Room."
An expression of disgust flashed onto General Morta's face. He motioned for Void to follow him off the bridge, into the winding narrow hallways of electricity and metal. General Morta moved quickly, dragging along soldiers he encountered until he had an entire armed company with him.
At his speed, it didn't take long to reach the Rose Room. General Morta slammed the metal doors open, pushing the guards out of the way. Void came in from behind him, and the soldiers poured out on their on.
The Rose Room was beautiful, but different than how Void had last seen it. In the center of the room, levitating by some unknown force, was the relic found not long ago in the Mountains: it was a sleeping rose head, larger than a person. Its sepals were spiky and deep green, and the closed petals were pure white. It glowed so brightly that it illuminated the room, bathing them all in a soothing light. But it was enclosed in technology. A staircase led up to a railing that circled the cylindrical room, spiraling up to give an encompassing view of the rose. On the floor and ceiling below and above the rose were two metal rings, large and engraved with mysterious symbols, wires traveling from them to all along the walls. Technicians stood at the top railings, minding their own maintenance at well-placed machines.
But the bottom ring was vacated. A technician ran up to General Morta. "Sir! The White Wizard's trying to destroy the Carbunkle Siphon!"
General Morta pushed him out of the way. He circled around the ring, Void and the soldiers following his lead. The White Wizard was there, his staff raised in the air. He yelled out, his voice sounding slightly weak. "Bright light, shine down upon-" He was cut off as General Morta rushed forward and smacked him again. This time he made no noise as he cringed on the ground.
General Morta grabbed him by his robe, forcing him to his feet. The White Wizard was dazed and in pain, and the General smiled. He turned to Void, still holding the White Wizard in his left hand. "You. The incantation." Void quickly shook his head. General Morta grunted with frustration. "If you don't, expect to be executed!"
Void shook his head again. "Let blood spilled be on your own hands."
"...Very well then." General Morta got an idea. He grabbed the White Wizard, still passively malleable, to his chest. He reached into his sheath with his right hand and pulled out his sword, pressing it to the White Wizard's outstretched neck. "Do it, or you'll have spilled his."
Void's bright yellow eyes flashed in confliction. The White Wizard briefly writhed in General Morta's grip. He spoke very weakly now. "Don't do it. It's better me than thousands of others."
General Morta tightened his hold on the White Wizard, and Void could tell he was in pain. Void bowed his head in surrender. General Morta grinned, not removing his sword. Void looked up briefly, as though to apologize to the White Wizard, who merely closed his eyes in anticipation. Void raised his staff up horizontally in front of him, holding it with both his hands. His shadowy voice reverberated through the Rose Room, echoing off the circular walls. "Heavenly light, purest tempest, swirling among the skies with undefiled beauty. Break out through the twisted veil of the earth. Shatter the curse of matter. Show the world your hand of judgment! Break Seal, Rose of Justinne!"
The white light pulsed brighter and brighter, like a heartbeat. It flashed with furious intensity, and a rumbling suddenly erupted around them. General Morta shoved the White Wizard to the floor. He yelled over the noise. "Turn on the Carbunkle Siphon! Let the Rosa Cannon roar!"
The technicians complied. With a storm of fingers on machines, the rings spun in place, a light red force-field engulfing the rose. They could now stand to look at the rose directly; the enormous thing was blooming before them, its petals stretching out in all their glory, light pouring out with an intense passion.
Suddenly, a hole opened up below it, within the ring. The green earth and the far-away city was visible through it, and wind seemed to rush upwards. It did not phase the luminous flower. The pure light flashed with cataclysmic brilliance, such that all who beheld it were forced to avert their faces. There was no noise. There was no burst or explosion. All there was was the brightness, forever staining the sky and the earth with the petals of a rose.
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To be continued...
Hello there, peoples!
Thanks for giving this story a chance. This is the very very beginning really, so expect quite a bit more to come. Umm... not much more to say, actually. I'm an avid sorta player of Final Fantasy, and I guess I've always had a weakness for it :P. Do I reccommend some knowledge of it before reading? Err... perhaps. I'll leave it up to you, cos I have other stories that aren't fan fictions too :D.
Questions? Comments? Reccomendations? Fan Mail? Hate Mail, maybe? Wanna just chat? Email me at ThePleiadesCall@gmail.com . Love to hear from you!
If you like FF Rosa, maybe there's the very vague possibility you'll like other stories I've submitted:
Charmed Reborn, Pokemon: Amethyst, Teth, Diana Celes, and Hallow. (...although not all of these are submitted at this time :P)