Afterstorm

by Sherick

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Chapter 1	Chapter 2	Chapter 3	Chapter 4
Chapter 5	Chapter 6	Chapter 7	Chapter 8
Chapter 9	Chapter 10	Chapter 11	Chapter 12
Chapter 13	Chapter 14	Chapter 15	Chapter 16
Chapter 17	Chapter 18	Chapter 19	Chapter 20
Chapter 21	Chapter 22	Epilogue

Chapter 1

Chapter I: Terra's/Sabin's Tale

She could see him. The mad overlord Kefka, on top of the pillar he had made out the innocent lands of the world. He was laughing a hellish storm that seemed to form all around them. She felt so helpless looking at the insane, powerful being.
"Life...Dreams...Hope...Where'd they come from? And where are they headed...? These things...I'm going to destroy!" he yelled.
No, she thought, no you won't.
"And there's no one to stop me."
We can stop you.
"I will destroy you!" He pointed right into her direction. "ESPER!! RAHAHAHAHHEHEHEHEHE!!!!!!!!!!"

"NO!" She yelled. Relm darted around. "Terra," she asked, "are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Terra Branford got out of her bed and walked out of the room. Dammit, Kefka! She thought to herself. Relm Arrowney was a young girl about fifteen.
They were living together, Terra, Relm, and the boy Gau, in a cottage far beyond any town, in the Narshe Country area. Gau would seldom stay indoors; he loved the outside, which was of course predictable.
Terra and Relm walked outside. There he was. Gau was already picking a fight with some small local monster, probably simply being drawn to the food growing in the garden.
"Gau!" Terra yelled. The monster ran off and Gau turned around. He had gotten over his old habits and grown into society, though he occasionally would turn back to his feral instincts, purposely or otherwise. He was seventeen and had brown-blonde hair with a ponytail. He stood completely up. He was getting tall.
His green eyes shown with some guilt, and some embarrassment. "Uh, heh...sorry Terra," he smiled. She stared at him. There was no way she could be mad him, she knew.
"Well in any case you need to stop acting like a creature," Relm spoke for Terra, as she constantly liked to do. Relm had also grown more or less out of her spoiled childish attitude, though for whatever reason would resort back when she felt annoyed, mainly by Gau.
Gau blushed. Terra knew that he had a crush on Relm for quite some while, and she suspected Relm likewise. The two went on in conversation, mostly Relm. Terra was just trying right now to get the images of Kefka out her head. It was a nightmare; she had been having them since the Battle for the World five years ago. Since that time, the Band-as Locke liked to call it- had gone their separate ways. Terra took in Gau, for neither of them had a real home. Relm's father, Clyde-or Shadow as he was known-had gone off somewhere, and her grandfather Strago had recently past away. So Terra took her in, too.
She had set up a nice house in the country. The walls were covered with Relm's artwork; it was all very nice indeed. Gau had little more than a few belongings, for he had never been strongly attracted to material possessions. Terra only had a few things as well, mostly clothes. Another thing, which Terra kept concealed, was a set of swords, knives, and armor, which she was saving for a "rainy day." She looked up into the surrounding mountains. She wasn't looking at anything in particular, she didn't think. The mountains always caught her attention though, and she did feel as if there may be something important.

Sabin Rene Figaro was wandering through the mountains, bringing on any challenger. In the past five years, his master, Duncan, had died and Sabin took the title of Grand Master. Before the old man died, Sabin had become a double black belt in the Blitz. "The only thing keeping you from a double red," he remembered Duncan saying, "is your own foolish pride and cockiness. I guess this comes with youth."
But Sabin would take his master's advice and become a true master. He would train a new generation of martial artists. At the time he was the last studier of the Blitz.
His brother Edgar was still the king of Figaro and, last time he checked, was married with a little girl. Heh, Sabin had laughed, I'd have thought he'd have been married ages ago the way he acts towards ladies.
These mountains Sabin could climb with his eyes closed. He started to venture here seven years ago, in a training exercise. After the world was ruined he came here to train for a while. He left to go to the town Tzen after a few months and stayed until he caught-up with the rest of the Band. He spent some time at Figaro Castle after the Battle for the World, but eventually returned to train under Duncan. Now here he was, going through an area he knew second nature. There were no monsters he could not beat on Mt. Koltz, and all monsters feared this muscular, brawny man.
Sabin hadn't changed much, still arrogant, still cocky, still very proud. Climbing the mountain itself was the real exercise, since no beasts would fight him. Maybe it was best he went somewhere else. No! Sabin thought. This was the place Duncan told me to go. And I'll stick to his word. Duncan was like a father-or more like grandfather-to Sabin, especially after he was bed-ridden. Now, anything Duncan had said was law, a commandment that Sabin would follow. He only wondered for how long.