A Reintroduction

by Casey Gilman

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A Reintroduction	The Figaro Brothers	The Treasure Hunters	Tales of the Thamasans
The Lone Ninja	The Adventures of Terra	Figaro, Vol. 2	Treasure, Vol. 2
Thamasans, Vol. 2	Ninja, Vol. 2	Terra, Vol. 2	Figaro, Vol. 3
Treasure, Vol. 3	Thamasans, Vol. 3	Ninja, Vol. 3	Terra, Vol. 3
Figaro, Vol. 4
The Final Chapters: Mechanical Magic
Magic, Vol. 1	Magic, Vol. 2	Magic, Vol. 3	Magic, Vol. 4
Magic, Vol. 5

FOREWORD
Anyone that has seriously played Final Fantasy Three probably knows that there are a variety of ways to complete it. In these short stories Shadow survived through the whole game, and he has had all five of his dreams. Gogo, Mog, and Umaro joined the group as well. I just thought I'd clear that up, because the game can have slightly different outcomes depending on these characters.

Also, this story is an introduction to a series of short stories that I am going to write for fun. This story involves all the characters, and shows what has happened to them all since the end of the game. After I finish this one I am going to do five seperate series of short stories, and each series is going to focus on one or two of the characters. The stories will all be connected, and all the characters will join together from time to time.

THE FIGARO BROTHERS will focus on Edgar and Sabin.
THE TREASURE HUNTERS will be about Locke and Celes.
TALES OF THE THAMASANS will show what happens to Strago and Relm.
THE LONE NINJA will mainly be about Shadow.
THE ADVENTURES OF TERRA will be about Terra, and will involve Duane, Katarin, and the children of Mobliz.

I just thought this was a unique way to write about the characters.

You may notice that I've excluded Cyan, Gau, Setzer, Mog, Umaro, and Gogo. It's not that I don't like these characters (actually Gau is my all-time favorite) it's just that I already have five series, which I feel is enough, and I couldn't think of any good stories revolving specifically around these characters. But they will make frequent appearances in the other five series.

I hope you like the following introduction to the world of Final Fantasy Three, six months after the defeat of Kefka.

---

The hot sun beat down on the desert, scorching the endless sea of sand. It had to be nearly 110 degrees, but Edgar Roni Figaro, King of Figaro Castle, was used to it. He had spent his whole life in the castle in the center of the desert, so he was well adjusted to it. He sat in the throne room staring down at the red carpet before him. Sometimes being a king could be dull.

"I can see now why I left this place," said a voice familiar to Edgar,"I can't remember being this bored!" It was his twin brother, Sabin. Sabin had left the kingdom about eleven and a half years ago, after his father, the old king, had died. It wasn't until a year and a half ago that Edgar and Sabin had been reunited.

"It's just gotten this way the past couple of months,"replied Edgar,"Without Kefka, or the Empire, things just aren't as exciting."

"Well,"said Sabin,"Let's go somewhere more exciting! This whole castle can go with us, so you won't have to leave your subjects!"

Figaro Castle was very technologically advanced. It could bury itself in the sand, and move underground. Then it could resurface at a new location.

"It takes a lot of fuel to make those trips,"said Edgar,"but why not! We're not using the fuel for anything! Where should we go?"

"I'm afraid we can't go anywhere,"the Chancellor entered the throne room,"The controls to move the castle are gone!"

* * *

Locke Cole set the small map down on the grass. Then he kneeled down and studied it.

"According to this map that the guy in Kohlingen drew up for us, it should be in this cave," Locke pointed to a nearby cave, which was at the foot of a mountain range.

"I never realized treasure hunting would be this fun,"replied Locke's companion, Celes Chere," 'Fun' is one thing that my life had been lacking."

"The fun's just begun!"said Locke excitedly.

"Do you really think it's in there, Locke?"asked Celes,"I mean a sword of pure gold is a little hard to swallow."

"Only one way to find out,"answered Locke,"C'mon!"

He ran off toward the cavern entrance, with Celes close behind.

The inside of the cave with pretty dark. Locke had been doing this for most of his life, however, so his eyes quickly adjusted. Celes was an ex-general, and was used to traveling through different types of terrain.

They started down a seemingly endless tunnel, which eventually opened up into a circular cavern.

"We're close! I just know it!"Locke couldn't hide his delight. They had been traveling together for the past few months, trying to find this sword. Just recently they had found a man in a bar in Kohlingen who supposedly knew where it was. He had drawn them out a crude map, which led them to the cave.

"There it is!" cried Celes.

Laying in the back of the giant circular cavern was a sword.

"A sword made entirely of gold! We'll be the envy of the world!"cried Locke.

"Let's take it outside so we can see it in shine in the sunlight," declared Celes.

Locke picked up the medium-sized sword by the handle, and they began to hurry back the way they came. Just as they reached the exit to the circular cavern, which led into the tunnel, they stopped dead in their tracks. A strange man was blocking them.

"Give me the sword!" he cried.

* * *

"Fetch!"

Relm Arrowny threw a small ball past a black dog, named Interceptor. The dog turned leapt around and rushed across the room after it, bumping into the table, and knocking over a white vase. The vase crashed onto the wooden floor, and broke into pieces. Interceptor picked up the ball in his mouth, and faithfully returned it to Relm.

"Good doggy!" said Relm, as she pet him on the head.

Just then, the door burst open, and the storm outside sounded louder than before. A short old man with white hair, and a red cape entered the house, drenched. It was Relm's grandfather, Strago Magus, back from his weekly shopping trip.

"It's raining cats and dogs out there!" cried Strago,"and I can't believe how much meat costs these days! I spent over 100 gold pieces today! And about thirty gold pieces was extra meat for that dog!"

"Well Interceptor has to eat too, ya know!" Relm responded.

"In my day, we'd just throw them a bone," declared Strago.

"Stop being such an old grouch!" demanded Relm.

"I'm sorry, dear," Strago apologized,"I just get like this when it's cold and rainy."

He set a small leather sack full of newly-bought food on the table. He looked down, and saw the pieces of the white vase.

"What happened?!" asked Strago.

"Interceptor accidently bumped it," answered Relm.

"Oh well," said Strago,"It was just taking up space anyway."

He began looking for his broom to clean up the mess, when there was a knock at the door. He opened it up and saw the Mayor of Thamasa standing before him.

"Please come in out of the rain," said Strago.

"Thank you," replied the Mayor, as he stepped inside,"but I'm afraid I can't stay long. I just came to tell you that your name was drawn this year."

"What?" was Strago's response.

"It's your turn to get the crop," the Mayor answered.

Strago was shocked.

* * *

"Well, we're here! Hope you enjoyed the trip, sir," said a polite sea captain, as his crew docked the ship.

"Here's your money," replied the only passenger, known only as Shadow.

He handed the captain a pouch, containing 1000 gold pieces. Most of the time, the cost of traveling by sea was a lot cheaper. But, there weren't any passenger ships headed for Doma, until next week, so the Ninja paid extra to travel on a supply ship.

"Thank you, sir," replied the sea captain,"and enjoy the newly rebuilt kingdom."

Shadow walked onto the dock without saying another word. He knew he wasn't going to enjoy his stay, which would probably be long. About twelve or thirteen years ago, when he was known as Clyde, he helped rob one million gold pieces from Doma's train. His partner was Baram; now deceased.

He had run from the law ever since, but he figured the people of Doma had given up the search for him long ago. Clyde was hard to catch, especially when he was disguised in dark robes with a new name. The castle had also been attacked by the Empire, and almost all of it's in habitants had been poisoned.

Shadow stepped onto the soft grass, a small breeze was blowing. He had meant to do this about six months ago, but while escaping a collapsing tower, he had gotten hurt. He'd been resting and healing in Albrook, a port town south of where the tower had been.

When he escaped the tower, he had left his companions to find their own way out. He had heard long ago that they had made it out alive, for saving the world from a madman is pretty big news. He had been worried about his companions, which he realized were the first friends he had had in years. He had been worried about one in particular; the young girl named Relm.

Shadow entered a small village, which surrounded Doma Castle. People had built it, after all the space in the castle had been taken.

Before he took on his Shadow guise, Clyde wound up in Thamasa, a small town with simple people living in it. He met a woman, named Belle, and together they had a baby girl. Shortly after, Belle died of labor complications. It was too painful for him to remain there, so like a coward, he left. He left his baby daughter behind, with no one to look after her. This was about eleven and a half years ago. Relm looked about the right age.

Of course, he never told anyone that. He had lied, and said that he was out to fight the Empire, which was beginning to spell trouble for the world. And he did take part in fighting the Empire, along with his dog. He hoped Interceptor had made it out of the tower alive. If he had, Shadow knew he would find Relm. Interceptor had always been friendly with Relm, which also led Shadow to believe Relm was his daughter.

He had no more time to ponder this, however. He was standing in front of Doma castle.

* * *

"I've got it!"

"No, I got it!"

"Give it to me!"

"Will you kids stop fighting!" cried Duane from a top a ladder,"One of you bring me that can of nails!"

Terra came out of one of the small houses.

"Terra," called Duane,"Can you get Joey and Susan to stop fighting?"

Terra walked up to the eight-year-olds,"Joey, you bring Duane the can of nails, and Susan can help Katarin with the baby."

"Okay, Mama," they said in unison. Susan went inside the house that Terra had been in, while Joey handed the nails up to Duane. The ladder Duane was on was propped up against one of the houses. Duane began nailing a board onto the roof of the wrecked house. There were other kids here too, helping to rebuild the town of Mobliz.

"You just have to know how to talk to kids," Terra remarked.

"How's Gaia doing?" asked Duane.

"Great," replied Terra,"She's been pretty mischivous today."

"Now that she can crawl we're going to need to keep a close eye on her," said Duane.

Gaia was Duane and Katarin's six-month-old girl who was born when the world was reborn. They had decided to name her Gaia, after the earth goddess.

"I'm going to see how everyonwe else is doing," said Terra, as she walked to a third, wrecked building, where some children were nailing some small boards on the lower part of it. Normally, Terra would not allow small kids to do adult labor. But Duane and Katarin were the only other adults (and they were only 17). All the other adults were killed by a madman, named Kefka. Unlike the other ruined towns in the world, who were being rebuilt and had new people moving into them, Mobliz was on the Veldt; a plain where many dangerous monsters lurked. Few people wanted to live near monsters, when they could live in Doma Castle, which Terra had heard, had a town growing around it. Terra always feared that one of those monsters would wander into the town, and harm her or the kids.

She noticed that only Jack and Katie were there, taking turns nailing the board. She noticed that Roy was not with them.

"Where did Roy go?" asked Terra.

"He said he was bored of this, then he took off," answered Katie.

"He said he was going to go do something more exciting," Jack added,"I think he went out to the Veldt."

A wave of panic washed over Terra.

* * *

"It's been torn apart, alright," said Edgar, in the control room of Figaro Castle. He was looking at a couple of loose wires, hanging out of the wall, where a big switch used to be. Sabin, the Chancellor, and Dolby, the controller of the switch were behind him.

"It was like this this morning when I came down here," said Dolby," but I don't see how anyone could come down here, because I lock the door every night."

"Maybe the broke down the door," suggested Sabin.

"The door's in perfect shape,"said Edgar,"Whoever did this either picked the lock, or had a key."

"The guards have keys to all the rooms,"said the Chancellor,"I'll talk to them."

"Report to me after,"said Edgar,"I'll be down here, trying to fix this thing."

The Chancellor nodded and left.

"How long do you think it'll take?" asked Sabin.

"Shouldn't take too long," answered Edgar,"If I can remember how Dad taught me to do this."

"Great,"replied Sabin.



The Chancellor had made his way to the entrance of the castle.

"This is important," said the Chancellor,"I need to see your keys."

"Yes, sir," said each of the guards, as they each took a ring of keys off of their belts. The Chancellor looked them over; all the keys were there.

"Have either of you let anyone borrow your keys in the past twenty-four hours?"

"No, sir," each of the guards replied.

"Very good. Carry on," was the Chancellor's reply. He entered the castle again. The only guard he hadn't checked was Ovid, the newest guard, and the one who guarded the door to the king's hall. After walking through an open outdoors part of the castle he reached a solid wooden door. It was the door that led back inside to the king's hall, but no one was there guarding it. The Chancellor looked skyward, and noticed that the sun was close to setting, meaning that Ovid's shift had started.

An hour later, after a thorough search of the castle, the Chancellor found no sign of Ovid. He went back to the control room, where Sabin and Dolby were watching Edgar finish up his repair job. There were a few mechanical parts and tools lying aroung on the floor.

"There," said Edgar,"I think it'll work now."

"Did you find out anything, Chancellor?" asked Dolby.

"Most the guards' stories about where they were last night seem to check out," replied the Chancellor.

"Most of them?" said Sabin.

"All but Ovid, who seems to have disappeared," answered the Chancellor.

* * *

A tall thin man in dark clothing stood before Locke and Celes. A dark blue bird, resembling a vulture, was perched on his left shoulder.

"Hand over that great treasure!" demanded the man.

"Treasure! Treasure!" squawked the bird.

"No way!" cried Locke,"We've been after this sword for months!"

"That's too bad," said the man,"It looks like I'm going to have to kill you for it!"

He quickly drew a sword from under his dark robes. He took one swing at Locke, but Locke was agile enough to leap out of the way. The bird flew of the man's shoulder and grasped on to Celes's shoulders with it powerful talons.

"Hey," cried Celes,"Get off!"

The bird carried her full speed into the back wall of the cavern. After a strong impact, the bird dropped her.

"Ouch," mumbled Celes, right before she lost consciousness.

"My fighting skills may be a bit rusty, but I can still take you on!" cried Locke, who had dropped the sword, and was defending himself with a small knife. The treasure hunter managed to block every blow from the dark man with his knife, but he was starting to tire.

"You can't block me forever!" yelled the robed man.

Locke knew he was right. He was quick enough to block the man's sword with his knife, but he was starting to get short on breath. He had to end this soon.

"Getting tired?" said the man.

Locke couldn't catch his breath to answer. He had to stop this right now. He pulled his knife back, and then drove it into the man's hand. The sword sliced off a lot of Locke's hair in the process, but the man had dropped the sword.

"You're going to pay for that!!" the dark stranger was enraged, but Locke knew he had won the battle. The man was in too much pain to do anything. His hand was now coated in blood. The bird flew to the man's side, and Locke rushed over to Celes.

She was still unconscious. Locke shook her.

"Celes," he said,"wake up."

She came to, but was very groggy.

"My head is killing me," said Celes.

"I know," said Locke, who was still panting a little,"But it's over. We're getting out of here. I just have to get the golden sword."

"Sorry," Locke heard the man speaking behind him,"I want the sword more!"

Locke spun around just in time to see his own knife, fly through the air toward him. It hit him square in the chest, and stuck there. Locke dropped instantly.

* * *

"That's right," said the mayor of Thamasa to Strago,"Your name has been drawn. You'll be getting the Moogle fruit this year."

Moogle fruit was spherical and pink, and it grew in a mysterious underground tree in a cavern near Narshe. Moogles lived near the tree; hence the name. Due to it's sweet taste, it was in high demand all over the world. Most towns had ships deliver it to them. But Thamasa was a small village, so one or two of it's citizens went to get some once a year.

"Aren't I getting too old?" asked Strago.

"Oh Gramps!" said Relm,"Stop being such an old fuddy duddy! It sounds like fun!"

"No, Relm," replied Strago,"I don't think you can come along with me."

"Well," said the mayor,"I'll be leaving now."

"Okay," said Strago,"I'll leave tomorrow."

A gust of wind blew in as the mayor opened up the door. He walked back out into the rain, closing the door behind him.

"PLEASE can I go, grandpa?" pleaded Relm,"I'm not too young! I helped save the world!"

"Oh, alright,"said Strago,"But this probably won't be easy."



By noon the next day, Relm and Strago had made it to the western side of the continent. It was a sunny, cloudless day. They were standing in front of a body of water.

"How're we going to get across?" asked Relm.

Strago set down a giant sack, that he had been carrying over his shoulder.

"I brought some materials to build a raft,"answered Strago,"I just have to remember how to do it."

By the time Strago finished putting the raft together, it was dark, and Relm was asleep. Strago blew out the lantern he had lit, and fell asleep on the grass.



"Relm," said Strago the next morning,"Wake up!"

"Huh?"mumbled Relm.

"It's time to leave," reminded Strago.

"Oh," said Relm, who was starting to wake up,"okay."

They boarded the raft and headed out into the calm ocean.



After about ten minutes of smooth sailing, the calm, glass-like water began to stir.

"The water's starting to get a little rougher," said Strago in a worried tone.

"Don't be such a worry-wart," replied Relm,"The water's fine."

"I'm not so sure about that, Relm," said Strago.

The water was shaking the raft now. Strago grabbed on to one side of the raft for balance.

"Now I know something's wrong," said a nervous Strago.

"Maybe you're right, grandpa," admitted Relm.

The water was churning violently now. Both of them had to keep a strong grip to keep from falling off.

"What's happening Grandpa?!" cried Relm.

"I don't know!,"exclaimed Strago,"Hold on!"

They had to yell over the sound of crashing waves.

Suddenly, about twenty feet of water rose into the air. It began to form into a human-like shape, except without the feet.

"Oh dear," said Strago, who was almost speechless.

* * *

Doma Castle.

It had been awhile since Shadow had been here. He had tried to stop it's citizens from being poisoned, but had failed. He knew one of the few survivors. His name was Cyan Geramonde, one of Doma's finest warriors. Shadow remembered hearing that since Cyan was the only survivor still living here, the new citizens elected him as their king. Shadow wasn't sure that he could picture that.

The castle was bustling with activity, people were rushing around. It was almost as if they had created a town inside the castle. Shadow glanced around and saw that Doma had been rebuilt nicely; it was nearly impossible to tell that it had been wrecked in an Imperial attack.

Shadow realized that he wasn't quite sure where the throne room was. He thought about asking someone, but he didn't really like talking to other people. A few people were looking at him with rather odd looks; with his dark clothing, he stuck out like a sore thumb.

After a little bit of searching, he found a red carpet leading to a giant iron door.

'This must be it,' he thought.

Beside the doorway stood two guards. Shadow tried to open the door, but the guards blocked him.

"Halt!" cried one guard,"Who are you?"

"I'm Shadow," said the ninja,"I need to see Cyan."

"Shadow, eh?" said one guard,"Your name sounds familiar. Didn't you help defeat Kefka?"

"Yes,"Shadow was already impatient,"I need to see the king."

"I'll go tell him that you are here," said the guard. He walked inside for about thirty seconds, then came back out.

"Go on in," said the guard. The other guard moved out of his way. Shadow entered the great throne room. The iron doors shut behind him.

"Sir Shadow!" exclaimed Cyan, who was standing in front of the throne,"Where have thou been?"

"I took a different way out of Kefka's tower and got hurt a little,"replied Shadow.

"You should have come out on the airship with us," said Cyan.

"It doesn't matter now," said Shadow,"I have more important business with you."

He pulled back his dark hood, revealing his five o'clock shadow and brown hair.

"My name is Clyde Arrowny," he said,"I helped rob Doma's railway of one million gold pieces."

Cyan gasped in amazement.

* * *

Terra rushed back to Duane.

"Duane," she said,"Keep an eye on the kids. I have to go find Roy."

"Huh?" asked Duane,"Where is Roy?"

But Terra was already gone.

'Where could he be?' thought Terra, who was now out on the Veldt. She didn't know what she would do if one of the kids got hurt. She was their "Mama" after all, so it was her duty to look after them. She stopped and caught her breath for a moment. This would have been so much easier if she could still fly. She looked around, and realized that she was in a sea of short grass, and Roy was somewhere in it.



Quite some distance away, Roy was scampering about without a care in the world.

'I knew those monster stories were just made up to scare kids,' thought Roy,'There isn't a monster in sight.'

Then he looked around, and saw a far-off figure hurrying toward him.

'That must be Mama,' he thought,'I guess my fun has to end sometime.'

He figured Terra would want to ground him or something, but what could she do? She wasn't his real mother. His real mother had been dead for over a year now.

The figure was getting closer. He figured he'd wait here for her, because he honestly wasn't sure how to get back home. The figure was a dark color.

'Mama must be wearing a coat,' he thought.

As the figure got closer, he realized that it wasn't Terra. It was moving way too fast, and wasn't the right shape. Roy began to panic. What if it was a monster.

It wasn't far from him now. He could make out a giant lashing tail, and long pointed fangs. Roy turned around and fled.

He ran as fast as he could, but the monster was a lot faster. It was moving at atleast twice the speed Roy was. Roy was running out of breath. He tripped on a rock and fell. He felt something breathing on his back. He rolled onto his back and saw a black creature with lizard-like skin drooling over him. He hadn't listened to Terra's warnings about the Veldt, and now he was going to die as a result.