Part 15: How Do They Work?

Now that the party has an airship, there's a lot of new areas to check out. Unfortunately, most of them are pretty irrelevant at the moment. But it is possible to revisit Mist...



Well, it's nice to see that some people survived. Cecil isn't about to correct them on what really happened...



There's a bunch of these around. Ha Ha Ha.



Cecil's true destination, Troia, lies to the northwest.



The gear is... subpar to say the least. But there's a reason for that...



Final Fantasy IV introduces the Black Chocobo. It can fly over anything but mountains, but it can only land in forests.



You can get a nice show for 10,000 Gil. And by nice I mean a waste of 10,000 Gil.



Ew. An old man's talking about thrusting. See the young woman at the top of the table? You can't reach her to talk to her. Weird...



I guess her name is Jenny.



The clerics will have the Earth Crystal everyone's looking for. But how was this place able to resist Golbez's attacks? And how will Cecil convince them to cough it up?



Oh. They're probably lucky that that happened, otherwise this place would be a smoldering cinder.



Magnetic field? It seems Golbez is unable to just take his armor off, I guess.



Wait... is that...?!



Edward!

Cecil...? You are alive... I am so relieved. I wish to join you again.

You cannot help us in that condition, though. You'd only burden us!

Way to be a jerk again, Tellah. That's why we love you.

Tellah... I can't even begin to ask for your forgiveness. Anna died because of me...

...

I can never atone for that.

Edward, your health should be your greatest concern now. You should rest.

Yang... So we all survived... Where is Rydia?

...

...I see. I wish I had been there to help you out during your battles...

Hey, I heard you took mighty good care of Cecil and Rosa! I appreciate it. Let me repay you. With me and my Enterprise, we can rise above anything!

You must be Cid, the airship engineer... Wait! Does this mean we have an airship!?



Cecil, whatever happened to Rosa!?

Golbez proposed a trade. He will return Rosa in exchange for the Earth Crystal. But the Crystal lies in the hands of the Dark Elf.

The Dark Elf... Cecil, you must take this.

What is it?

This is the only way I can help you right now.



Cecil, please save Rosa. Cecil, you MUST save Rosa!



Heh.



Unfortunately, the area surrounding the Magnetic Cave is all forest. Tellah having level 3 Elemental Magic makes the walk north a breeze. Why north?



For a Black Chocobo, of course!



The bird lets us reach the cave with ease.



My claws appear to be unaffected.

Fear not! We shall stand invincible with my magic!

The Magnetic Cave is obnoxious. Wearing any metal equipment (swords, armor, even Iron Arrows) causes the character with them equipped to be Paralyzed in battle. It's really easy to get a quick instadeath if you're not careful. This means that Cecil is reduced to a lame bow and arrows for the dungeon.



Mind Flayers usually go down before they start any trouble. Cait Siths have a Blaster attack that has a 50/50 shot of causing Paralysis or Death. Lovely.



The monsters are actually easier once you get down a few levels. These guys are not a fan of Blizzaga. Tellah's low Max MP is annoying, but you have plenty of Ethers and he has Osmose as well. Cecil does most of the healing here (his arrows just aren't cutting it).



Cid's Study Command is a free Scan. Scan only costs 1 MP though, so...



Cecil learns Teleport on the way down. Make a mental note of this.



The Fairy Claw is awesome. It can confuse enemies and does massive damage to Giants. Massive, massive damage.



We finally reach the Earth Crystal. Why does it have two resting places? Troia has a room just like this...



We shall see about that.

Let's see how he likes my magic!



It likes your magic, Tellah. You can hurt the Dark Elf physically, but...




...it's going to kick your ass anyways.



This is bad.

I need my sword.

Ugh...



Freaking magnets.



This is really bad. Who can help Cecil out of this jam?



Edward flies out of bed and lands face first.



I'm fine. I just want to get my harp to... Agggh!



*cough cough* I must... help them...



He surprisingly shoves the nurse and doctor out the way in a rare feat of strength.



He starts playing the melody he played back in Kaipo...



...?

This melody...

It's Edward!




He cannot control the magnetic field while I'm playing! Now! Draw your sword!

Right!



The group gets a chance to equip all of their metal possesion now while the song holds the Dark Elf at bay.



Then the fight begins in earnest.



Edward's music plays through the first half of this fight, holding the Dark Elf's powers back. The same Fira-Thundara-Blizzara combo only does about 80 damage to the group. The Dark Elf is weak to Cecil's Holy Sword, so Tellah Hastes Cecil at the first opportunity.



The Elf gets serious here and shows off his true form. It doesn't help him.



Thank you, Edward.



The Crystal Room has a strange field about it preventing Teleporting, so you have to leave the room first before Tellah or Cecil can magic you out.



The clerics are thrilled at Cecil's success, but...



That voice!

Kain!

Bring the Crystal and board the airship. I will take you to Rosa.

The clerics are nice and let Cecil "borrow" the Crystal for his reward for rescuing it from the Dark Elf. They also open their treasury...



Silver Apples increase MAX HP by 50. We'll save this for the endgame.



Thank you for your help, Edward.

There is no need to thank me.

What I don't understand is how that worked...

I first heard that melody when I traveled as a minstrel. I recalled it being a song to remonstrate elves and I thought it might work...

We owe you our lives.

No, I only... Ugh...

Edward!



Courage, rising from integrity. She was fortunate to have your love.

...

Now be silent and heal your wounds. I promise you I shall avenge Anna for the both of us.

Thank you...

Edward, I look forward to fighting alongside you again.

...Anna, now I think I understand why you did what you did.

Next time, Rosa... and Golbez.