Part 18: Exchanges

Cecil confronts Kain and Golbez on the top floor.

Welcome!

Golbez!

Where's Rosa!

First, the Crystal.

She'd better be alright!

Hand over the Crystal now or she dies.

Here, take it!



There, now where's Rosa?

Rosa? Whomever are you talking about?

What!?

You two-timing cur!

Return her this minute!

Ignorant dotard. Have you no idea who you're dealing with?

How could I ever forget the monster who killed my daughter!?



Tellah bullrushes Cecil out of the way and flips out on Golbez.

Vengeance will be mine!

Really, REALLY flips out.



For the math nerds, yes, that was way more MP than he has.



Tellah!

Everyone rushes to Tellah's side. But Golbez is still standing...

It matters not. The Crystal is mine. Kain!



...

It looks like Kain's out for the count.

So Meteor broke my spell over him. So be it. He no longer serves any purpose. Mark my words, Cecil. Someday, I will destroy you.



!



Cecil doesn't want to wait that long.





Now it's Golbez's turn to flip out.

...!?

Ugh... Why don't... you finish me?

You...

?

What is going on? Ugh... Agggh!

!?

We will settle this the next time we meet!

Golbez then bolts for the door.



Are you okay?

Yeah... Meteor must have weakened him. Tellah! Are you okay!?



Keep still!

I'm such a fool... I lost myself...in my own hatred. Avenge my daughter...for me... I beg of you...



Tellah!

......

Get up, you old geezer!

...

Tellah...

...I'll bet your daughter's mighty proud of you. You did good.



Tellah, Anna... I swear on my life...we will avenge you!

I'm always more moved by the more... "mathematical" deaths in the series. When things like Phoenix Downs and resurrections spell exist, I like to see a real reason those things don't work. This is done very well in Final Fantasy V as well. FF6, FF7, etc.? Not so much.

Cecil, Yang, and Cid then proceed to the next room.



Alright, maybe not. Maybe that sack of flesh over there has the key.



Cecil... I... I'm so sorry... What have I done?

Don't blame yourself. You had no control over yourself.



I love the way Kain admits he's a dick right here.



Where's Rosa!?

Beyond those doors! We must hurry!



Cecil!



Cecil unties her in time before she gets guillotined. Oddly enough, the US version of FF2 changed that blade into a large round weight. I guess being squished is more family-friendly than getting chopped in half.

Kain's moping almost got her killed. I give Edward a lot of crap, but I have no problem giving Kain more.

Rosa...

I knew you'd come.



I missed you so much... And I realized... I...

Cecil...

...

You realized what!? Be a man! Spit it out!



He's okay now. Tellah's Meteor broke Golbez's spell.

But I was still aware. And yet... Rosa...I wanted to keep you close at any cost!

Yep. Still a dick.



...

...

Let's fight together, Kain.

After all that I've done... It's too late.

...

Hey! Save the corny drama for later! We gotta scram!



...Cecil... Rosa... Thank you.

Kain and Rosa both rejoin the party. And not a moment too soon...



The Lord of Wind, Barbariccia!

You disappoint me Kain. Submitting to a weak imbecile, despite all your powers.

I've simply come to my senses. I've grown sick of siding with animals like you!

You snotty little wretch. I'll enjoy killing you all! With the old man and his Meteor gone, you stand no chance.

Let's see about that.



Barbariccia, like all the Elemental Lords, has multiple forms.



Her Tornado form reduces damage to her and lets her hit with Tornado(reduces target to single-digit HP) and Ray(a slow Petrify over time). Kain's Jump attack forces her out of this form and is the key to this fight. Dying here means a whole lot of cutscene doover.



Regardless, you'll never leave here alive! Hahahaha!

It's collapsing!

Dammit!

That bastard!

She's a woman, Cid. We call them bitches.



Teleport!
_{Cecil you know Teleport why is your girlfriend bailing you out?}



Although I'm not sure you could have gotten the group this far away...

This is...!?

Yes, it's your room in Baron.

With the fake king gone, there's nothing to worry about.

Cecil, there is something I must tell you.

What is it?

It's about the Crystals.

Golbez has the Earth Crystal, which means he now has all the Crystals.

Not quite. He only has four.

You mean there are more?

Of course! So the legends are true after all!

Yes... The Dark Crystals.



That means there's a whole of set of...

...Dark Crystals?

Exactly. So you see, he only has half of the Crystals.

Well, we now know they exist, but how would we go about finding them?

They lie under the surface of the earth...in the underworld.

Underground? Are you sure about this?

I overheard Golbez say this. He also said that when all the Crystals of Light and Darkness are united, the path to the moon shall open.

A path to the moon?

I'm not sure exactly what it is, but this is the key for unlocking it. Here, you keep it.



So this is the key...

This will open a path to the underworld... somewhere.

Yes, but where do we use it?

I wish I knew...

No worries! We'll just fly around the world on the Enterprise till we find something.

But we lost the airship at the Tower of Zot.

Pshaw! My baby has auto-pilot. I'll bet she's flown back already.

Cid, what would we do without you?

Heh heh. Alright, we leave tomorrow morning. Let's rest up for our journey to the underworld!



Cecil?

Oh, I was just thinking aloud. Come on, let's get some rest.

Next time, the Underworld awaits.