Transition:  From End to Beginning
An account of the end of the Crystal Wars, from Golbez's point of view.

By the Voice of the Mist

Warning: This fic contains huge spoilers for those who have not finished Final Fantasy II. (Well it's written to accommodate the US version, but basically it'll spoil the game no matter which version you haven't played. =P)  Read at your own risk!

Legal Stuff:  All characters used in this fic belong to Square.

And by all means, let's get on with the fic!

~*~

They were there.  At the end of the labyrinth tunnel stood the enormously tall helmeted man in dark, midnight-blue armor and the shorter old Lunar man with flowing ivory hair and beard.  They made an odd pair, but there was an air of seriousness about them that held them together in mutual understanding.  They needed no words.  They stood confidently, awaiting the coming battle.

Or perhaps it should be said that the old man stood confidently.  The man in armor shot glances at his companion when he thought he wasn't looking.  Never minding the state of the other's thoughts, the tall warrior's mind was in turmoil.  If his mask had been off, one would have been able to read his mind like a book from the expression on his face.

For the first time, in a long time...Golbez, the Man of Darkness, was afraid.

:I shall be facing my Master again,: he thought, a shiver making its way down his spine.  He swallowed, and then bit his lip in a snarl made invisible by his mask.  :Some Man of Darkness,: he thought to himself scornfully.  :You have the Lunar Guardian with you.  To be afraid is weakness.  I am not weak.:  He shot another indecipherable look at the old man.

Fu So Ya only gazed serenely ahead, to where their mutual enemy lay waiting.  His high brow creased with thought, he didn't seem to notice Golbez's discomfiture.  His hands fingered the wood of his staff almost absently, and after a few more minutes, he turned his head towards his nephew.

"Are you ready, Golbez?"

"Yes, Fu So Ya."

With that, the two strode forward to meet their foe.

He was waiting for them.  It was no surprise for them to find him totally awake rather than in the slumber Fu So Ya had told Cecil and the others he had forced the rebellious Lunar to be in.  Zemus was a tall Lunar dressed in a long violet cloak that served to enhance his decidedly odd purplish skin coloring.  Long fingers were folded together in a mockery of a welcoming gesture, and a high, velvety voice addressed them.

"Greetings, Fu So Ya," he purred.  His gaze, focused upon the old man, flicked only once towards Golbez.  The big man suppressed a start as, for only once second, his eyes met his master's.  He realized suddenly, that he hadn't remembered this man had been his master until Fu So Ya had told him who he was...

He took his mind away from those thoughts, and stood still and straight.  This man was his father's murderer.  However, this man had been the one to teach him everything he knew.  Conflicting loyalties warred for a moment in Golbez's dark mind...but only for a moment.  :Zemus controlled me like a puppeteer and his marionette.  He never showed any real feeling toward me, only scorn.  Only superiority.  I have no real tie to this man, and with his death such ties shall be severed forever.:

His hands clenched, and this movement did not go unnoticed.  Zemus glanced at him again, and this time his eyes were filled with a kind of dark amusement.

"What do you want here, old man?" Zemus inquired, a pencil-thin eyebrow lifted.  "And why bring your brother's little whelp with you?"

"You know perfectly why we are here,"  Fu So Ya replied calmly as Golbez seethed.  "You have gone too far, Zemus, in awakening the Giant of Bab-il.  We have come to take steps to prevent you doing it again."

"I do not know what you mean, Revered One," Zemus scoffed, emphasizing the title caustically.  He smirked at Golbez.  "It was he who raised the Giant, not I.  Not I."

"I was your instrument,"  Golbez said, his voice harsh through the mask.  "You worked your will through me.  It's the same thing."

"He is right, Zemus," Fu So Ya cut in.

"So what will you do to me then?  Kill me?"

"If we must."

Zemus gazed into the venerable Lunar's eyes, and his lip curled up.  He raised his violet-sleeved arms.  Golbez's eyes widened and he took a step forward, but Zemus only laughed.  "Go ahead then," he snarled.  "Try your might against me!"

"Golbez!  Fu So Ya!"

At that moment, Golbez was concious of others entering the room behind them.  He recognized his newly-acknowledged brother's voice, but he didn't turn around.  The man he and Fu So Ya faced was more important right now.  :What spell, what spell?:

"Fire3!"  his uncle bellowed.

Hot flame engulfed Zemus.  There was no effect.  He continued to smile.

Shaken, Golbez tried his own spell.

"Ice3!"

Zemus's eyes glinted amusement as he regarded his former apprentice.

"Lit3!"  Fu So Ya shouted.

Golbez shot a look at Fu So Ya, hoping he would figure it out.  Normal spells wouldn't work on Zemus.  It would take a more powerful spell, like�

The old man turned his head towards him, and nodded understanding.  "Do the Meteo now!" he shouted.

Golbez nodded, and started chanting.  Fu So Ya did likewise.  Zemus only smirked.

"Silly," he hissed, baring his teeth in a foul parody of a grin.

"White!"  cried Fu So Ya.

"Meteo!"  Golbez shouted.

The combining of the two most powerful spells of White and Black magic had the desired effect.  A deafening explosion of blinding, white-hot meteorites rained down on Zemus, who did nothing to shield himself.  His body pummeled by hundreds of flaming boulders, he fell, without a scream.  When the spell was finished, Zemus lay, his body broken, on the floor.

He raised his head weakly, a glimmer of power still in his sinister eyes as he gazed upon them.  "This is just the beginning..."  was his dying hiss.  Then he collapsed, lifeless in front of them.

Golbez felt exultant.  They had done it!  "We defeated him," he said, his voice echoing his relief.

The aged Lunar sighed.  "It's a pity," he muttered.  "He was consumed with evil and could not use his powers for good."  He shook his head.

"Right on!"  a voice cried out in awe.

They turned to see Cecil the Paladin and his four companions behind him.  Golbez smiled to himself as they approached, their faces astonished.

:They didn't believe that an old man and someone as dark as myself could have defeated him,:  he thought, laughing to himself.  :They believed they would be the ones to save the day.:

Meanwhile, Fu So Ya blinked.  "Oh," he exclaimed.  "You're here."

The gray-clad Ninja grinned.  "Man, I was to get Zemus!"  he said ruefully.  Then he sheepishly smiled as the green-clad Caller woman scowled at him.

Golbez paid no heed to them, looking only at his brother.  "Cecil..."  he began, but stopped.  His normal eloquence deserted him as the Paladin turned away, confusion warring upon his face.  Golbez sighed quietly.

:It's all I deserve to be shunned by him.  After all, I am the reason he has had to feel so much pain...:

The others had turned to regard the two, their faces an odd mix of sorrow and pity.

Behind his mask, Golbez clenched his teeth, resentment boiling within him.  :Don't look at me like that,: he thought angrily but did not say aloud.  :I don't need your sorrow.  I don't need your pity.:  He swallowed, and closed his eyes.  :But how pitiful I must be, if my own brother wants nothing to do with me.:

He was of half a mind to try again to talk to Cecil, but suddenly the light in the room flared, then dimmed.  He whirled around to see a flame engulf Zemus's body.  The light dimmed further, and a voice rang out.

"I am the Absolute Dark Substance... product of Zemus' hatred...  My name is Zeromus...  I am...the Hatred...!"

Suddenly everyone flew back as an unseen force pushed them off their feet.  Golbez rose, and so did Fu So Ya beside him.  They faced a startling sight.  Zemus's body had changed...

Long blue strands of leathery, whiplike hair extended from his snarling bestial head, covering his monstrous form in an abysmal cloud of obscured nihilism. His small eyes glowed with a sickly fire, yellow in tint and seeping with pure unrelenting Hatred. His long, curved fangs dripped with a black venom that threatened to melt and sear flesh by mere proximity... He was the just as he said...the Hatred that was... and is... Zeromus.

Beside him, Golbez heard Fu So Ya whisper�was it awe he heard in the old Lunar's voice?� "Death only increased Zemus's hatred..."

:And his power,: Golbez added silently.

Although faced with most horrifying monster he had ever seen�and as the Dark Wizard, Golbez had seen many�it didn't matter to him what form Zemus would take, or how much evil force he radiated.  They had defeated him before...and they would destroy this foul reincarnation as well!

"Zemus!" he shouted defiantly, "Or should I say Zeromus!  I'll cast you back to where you belong!"

"Begone!"  roared Fu So Ya.

As they had done before, this time knowing that regular spells would not work, both Golbez and Fu So Ya cast Meteo.  Hundreds, thousands, millions of rocks hurtled at Zeromus...but it had no effect.  If anything, the spell seemed only to revitalize the monster!

"...It's no use!"  cried Fu So Ya.  He turned to Golbez.  "Use the Crystal!"

Golbez's eyes grew wide, although it didn't show from under his mask.  He reached into a pouch at his belt and drew out the large, glittering gem.  Immense power flowed through it, and his hands unconsciously clenched tighter around it.  The Crystal of Light and Darkness...it was the compound of every crystal he had taken�stolen�from the Blue Planet.  Before he and Fu So Ya departed to the Moon, he had used his power to join them all.  It had easily spirited them away from the Blue Planet, and below its clear surface still contained power enough to move stars.

He knew what Fu So Ya wanted him to do.  This...thing they faced, whatever Zemus had morphed into, seemed impervious to Meteo, the mightiest Black spell of all time.  It seemed impossible to defeat him...  He couldn't use the massive power of the Crystal to kill him, though.  He knew it would take much of the Crystal's power to defeat Zeromus.  To just release the pure energy harnessed within the gem was folly; the power would not only destroy Zeromus but the entire Red Moon�and everybody on it, human and Lunar�as well.

:No,: he thought quickly to himself as he stared at the horrendous creature he faced.  :But no, this can't be Zeromus.  I can sense it; this form of his masks something else...this must be some kind of illusion!  And a spell cannot work if it is aimed at something false.  I must use the Crystal to destroy that mask or he can never be defeated!:

Golbez held out the crystal in front of him and focused his power upon it.  A great light flashed, blinding him temporarily.  After a moment, his vision cleared.  Horrified, he drew in a sharp breath.

Nothing had happened.

Zeromus gloated.  "You, the man of Darkness, using it does not mean anything to me, you fools!" he snarled.  The blue filaments waved, and there was another flash of light.  Before Golbez or the Lunar Guardian could move, Zeromus' own spell caused meteorite upon meteorite to shower down upon them.  They pummeled Golbez's armor, some burning through to his skin.  He screamed soundlessly in pain, and remembered the first time Meteo had been cast on him...but the old man's spell was nothing compared to this endless rain of fiery rock.

When it had ended, Golbez and Fu So Ya both lay motionless on the ground.  The old Lunar was unconscious and bleeding, wounded in a dozen places.  A nasty gash had scored across his forehead.  Golbez was still conscious, but just barely.  His dark armor was a hole-ridden smoking ruin now, and all he felt was agony from the beating his body had endured.  The Crystal was still clenched tight in his fist.

:Is this the end?:  he thought.  Tears of despair filled his eyes; he had failed.

"Suffer... and... perish...  My hatred will last until I destroy all...  Now it's your turn...  Come into my darkness!"

"B...brother!"

Golbez opened his eyes to see Cecil kneeling over his prone body.  Suddenly, hope flared as realization dawned in his mind.  :If I am the Man of Darkness...then my brother must be the Man of Light!  He is the Paladin, blessed with our father's holy touch...he can use the Crystal!:  He raised his clenched fist towards his brother, offering him the Crystal.

"Cecil...  Use... this...!"  His energy spent, he could say no more.

Cecil immediately knew what this was.  His eyes widened as he held the gem up in front of his face.  Understanding in his eyes, he nodded thanks to his brother, and then stood to face Zeromus.

"Zeromus!"  He roared.  "For all those living on the earth...I will destroy you!"

Through his hazy, sideways vision (because he lay on the floor), he saw Cecil bravely facing Zeromus, his Crystal sword in his hand.  :No, Cecil...you must use the Crystal first!: he moaned mentally.  When Cecil raised his sword, he suddenly faltered, and fell to his knees, panting with exhaustion.  He was too weak, and too tired, to fight.

Brightness shined down upon them suddenly.  Brilliance flared into the room with a holy white light...light that touched down upon them all.  Golbez, from his spot on the floor, could barely see through the radiance.  Dazed, he saw�or did he only think he saw them?�smoky, spirit-like apparitions form in the light before the Paladin Knight.  One by one, they whispered words of encouragement, which seemed to strengthen his brother.

"Cecil!"

"Here's our power."

He heard footsteps.  As the other warriors stepped forward to join Cecil, passing by where he lay, Golbez realized that the spirits he saw were praying to give his brother and his companions the power to fight...

"Do your best!"

"Don't give it up!"

As the light flashed, and more voices spoke, Golbez lost consciousness.

~*~

He stood, outside of his body, next to the spirit-form of Fu So Ya.  Glancing at his mailed hand, he found that he wasn't very surprised to see it was transparent.  He looked to the Lunar Guardian.

"We must help them,"  Fu So Ya told him quietly.  "Their friends on the Blue Planet are giving them the strength and courage to fight�as should we!"

He understood, turning his head to regard the scene in front of him.  The apparitions he had seen were still there, new ones appearing as others disappeared, giving his brother and his companions their benediction.

"Concentrate!"

"Hold on to it!"

Golbez waited for another spirit to appear, but none did.

"It's our turn, Golbez,"  Fu So Ya told him.

They stepped forward to meet the Blue Planet's five champions.  All but Cecil stood facing Zeromus, their energy renewed.  Cecil still looked like death warmed over, kneeling and using his sword to support himself.

Fu So Ya lay his spirit-hand upon his nephew's forehead.  "Bless him, Moon,"  he prayed.

"My dear brother!"  Golbez murmured.  "Let your sacred power be with the Crystal!"  He shot a defiant glance at the monster glaring down at them in silence.  "Zeromus!" he snarled.  "It's the end!"

Cecil stood finally, gratitude in his crystal-clear gaze.  Golbez smiled back at him, and although his expression was concealed within his mask, he saw that his brother knew it was there.

Their life-forced drained from the giving, Fu So Ya and Golbez started to fade away, as the others had.  It was back to their bodies they were going, Golbez knew.  Back to unconsciousness, and depending on how the battle turned out, perhaps death.  But Golbez didn't feel nearly as frightened as he had before.  He had faith in his brother and his stalwart party.

:Good luck, my brother,: he thought.  As he faded back into nothingness, the last thing he saw was his brother raising the crystal against Zeromus...

~*~

Golbez opened his eyes.  He sat up, and then stared down at himself.  His dark, midnight-blue armor was still battered beyond repair.  It couldn't defend him from a child's slung stone, much less from seasoned warriors in battle.  By all rights, he reasoned, he should have been horribly wounded.  Or dead.  He'd felt like it when the meteors had hit.  And yet�and yet�now, he felt fine.

He stood.  His helmet sat crookedly on his head, bashed in on one side by a particularly large rock.  Golbez didn't have a headache.  His breastplate had been battered inwards, and it poked uncomfortably at him.  It didn't feel like he was wounded there.  His boot had suffered likewise.  Once a perfect fit, it now pinched his toes.

And yet, he wasn't shocked.  :If I woke up, I guess I'm not dead, am I?  And if I'm not dead, or being attacked now, I suppose that my brother has succeeded....?:  A glance towards the front of the room confirmed his thought. Wonder filled his heart.  :My brother...my brother...defeated Zeromus...: he thought with pride.

He looked to his side to see that Fu So Ya had also risen.  Golbez noticed that the gash he'd previously noticed on the old Lunar's brow was now gone.  He shot a questioning glance at Fu So Ya; the Lunar Guardian returned it with a nod.  "So much magic was used here in the fighting, some of it must have rebounded on us," he said quietly.  "We're lucky.  This sort of thing doesn't happen much.  And it says much of their strength."  He gestured at the party.

"Well done!"  Fu So Ya said as the two went up to Cecil and the rest.  "I didn't know you people had such power.  Your people might have been further along than us Lunarians," he muttered half to himself, a thoughtful gleam in his eyes.

The ninja overheard.  "No doubt!" he proclaimed arrogantly, with an impudent smirk at the old Lunar.

The dragoon stepped forward, and Golbez felt a small electric jolt somewhere near his heart.  Kain.  :I've done him so much wrong,: he thought.  Expecting words of anger directed at himself, he was a little surprised when the dragoon said instead, "But...Zeromus' last words..."  He trailed off, worry upon his strong-featured face.

"As long as there is evil in the hearts of people..."  the white wizard murmured.

"Evil in our minds will never disappear," said Fu So Ya gruffly.  "We all have both evil and good in our mind, just as there are the crystals of Light and Darkness, the ground and underground.  But as long as the evil exists, so does good.  Just as you held good in your heart to fight evil."  He looked at them sternly.

They looked back, a little abashed.  Then the ninja, whom Golbez had by now figured out was prone to small outbursts, said, "You're right, man!"

The Caller woman regarded him with exasperation in her emerald eyes.  "It's hard to believe Zemus didn't use you instead!" she snapped, clearly annoyed with his overinflated ego.

"Ha!  Don't worry!  Goodness is my middle name!"  he shot back with a large grin and a wink.  By the look on the woman's face, Golbez thought she might respond with violence.

Fu So Ya, seemingly oblivious to the interplay, went on.  "I must now return to my sleep.  You?"  He looked around inquiringly.

"We'll go back to our planet," Cecil said.

"There are people waiting for us!" added Rosa.

"I see," Fu So Ya replied.  Golbez had no doubt that he wasn't a bit surprised with the answer.  "You have great comrades.  I am looking forward to seeing you again."

Golbez hesitated for a moment.  Then, his voice soft, he asked, "May I go with you?"

Fu So Ya blinked.  "You?"  His voice was disbelieving, as if he could not understand why he would want to go with him.

"I cannot go back to the earth considering what I have done."  He looked towards Kain, who avoided his gaze, and Rosa, who regarded him with pity in her eyes.  He gazed into the eyes of his brother Cecil, who looked as if he didn't know what to think.  :Could they ever forgive me for all the crimes I'd committed?: he thought sadly.  :No, I can't go with them.  Forgiveness for my actions will not�cannot�come easily.  They have to forget me to be able to forgive.:  Before the silence became too deep and uncomfortable, he added, "Besides, I would like to see my father's people."

Fu So Ya regarded him shrewdly, but only said, "If you wish.  But it will be a very long sleep."

He nodded.  "I understand."  He looked again at his brother.  "Thank you, Cecil, for calling me your brother," he said, his voice very soft.

Cecil didn't reply.  He didn't seem to be able to trust himself to say anything.

Golbez tried again.  "I know you can't forgive or forget what I've done.  I caused you so much pain..."  He trailed off.  He sounded so trite, so banal.  He cursed himself for not being able to find the words that could express what he felt in his heart.

"We must go now," said Fu So Ya, his eyes sad.  "Live in peace," he told the five warriors.  He turned to Golbez.  "Now let us go."

Golbez nodded.  "Yes," he whispered.  They turned to go, towards the steps that lay behind where Zemus�Zeromus�had been.  As they started up the staircase, Golbez heard his brother's comrades whispering fiercely to him.  With sorrow in his face for having to part like this, he turned again and said, "Goodbye."

"Cecil!"  the ninja hissed, just a little too loudly.

The Paladin, his hazel-green eyes focused upon Golbez's face, slowly approached them.  He opened his mouth, then closed it.  And then opened it again.  After one more false start, he finally said, "Goodbye..."  He hesitated for another second, and then�"Brother!"

A gladness welled up inside him, and warmth filled his heart.  He had been so cold before...  He turned back once more.  "So long, Cecil...!"  he managed to say.  After another backward glance, he followed Fu So Ya up the crystal steps.

~*~

They walked in silence up the staircase.  When the steps finally ended, a tunnel lay before them, going even deeper into the heart of the Red Moon.  Golbez stopped, staring down the path.  Fu So Ya turned to look at him.

"Any regrets?" he inquired.

"As many as there are grains of sand on a beach," was the slow, halting reply.

"You could go back, if you wish."

"I could," Golbez said.  "But I won't.  I don't want to."

"Really?"  the old man asked.

"...Yes."

"Why are you still wearing that?"

"What?"  Golbez blinked and stared at him, startled at the change of subject.

"You armor," Fu So Ya said.  "You have no need of it anymore.  Not here.  And it's in pretty bad shape, you know."

Golbez slowly took of his helmet.  He held it in front of him, and contemplated it.  The side of it was indented slightly, and the long horns stuck out of the sides.  The orbed visor glared at him menacingly.  It really did look sinister.  Golbez stared at it for another moment, and sharply turned and cast the hated thing back down the stairs.  He then began to strip himself of the rest of his armor, revealing a pale tan tunic underneath.  Each piece of armor followed the helmet.  When Golbez was done, he shook out a long mane of white hair.  He felt much better.

Fu So Ya smiled at him.  "That looks better," he said.  He regarded the other man, and then said, "You really do look much like your father.  Even more than your brother does."

Golbez blushed, embarrassed.  To change the subject, he asked, "How...how did you know him?"

The old Lunar raises his bushy white eyebrows in surprise.  "You didn't know?  He was my brother."

"I...you mean...you're my uncle?"  He blinked.

Fu So Ya smiled.  "Yes, I am."

"Uncle Fu So Ya," he mused, trying out the name.  "It's...a bit of a mouthful.  Would you mind if I called you Uncle Fu?"

The old Lunar laughed.  "Uncle Fu?  That's different.  No, I wouldn't mind at all."

As they started down the path, he asked, "Uncle Fu, how long are we going to sleep?"

Fu So Ya smiled slightly.  "Not as long as I'd had you believe," he said.  "As we speak, this moon is falling out of the Blue Planet's orbit.  Soon it will find a planet fit for us to live."

"How soon?"

"It won't be next week."  The old man raised an eyebrow at his nephew.  "It takes time for something the size of this moon to travel.  Until it reaches its destination, we will hibernate."  He smiled.  "It's time that we settle on a planet suitable for us.  I doubt the humans of the Blue Planet will welcome us with open arms.  It's time that we stop waiting for them to advance to our level.  Life does not go on forever.  It would be a tragedy if we Lunarians went extinct because we never woke up."

They walked on in silence.  Golbez regarded his uncle thoughtfully.  After awhile he said, "You asked me about regrets...and what I said just now was true.  I have many."  He paused.  "But...it's very odd...I don't remember a lot of them.  I just know they happened."

Fu So Ya frowned.  "What do you mean?"

"I remember the big things,"  Golbez said slowly.  "Ordering Kainazzo to kill the King of Baron and take his place.  Bending Kain to my will...kidnapping Rosa.  But so many other things...from my childhood, from the time Father..."  He stopped, pain in his face.  "The last thing I remember of Father is that he told me to take Cecil and go...I think it was when Zemus came to kill him."  He shook his head.  "But I don't remember much about that, not anymore.  I was trying to think about it when we were climbing up the stairs, but then I realized that it's...gone.  My memory of almost everything since that time until...now."  He looked at Fu So Ya.  "I don't understand.  I think it was...since you broke Zemus's control over me, inside the Giant of Bab-il."

His uncle regarded him thoughtfully.  "How interesting," he said.  "Golbez...your life changed very radically when you were taken by Zemus.  From then on, to control you, he must have built a bond with you, mind-to-mind.  When he let you go in this world, you had forgotten everything about him, but you had a purpose ingrained within your mind�to take the Crystals and then go to the Moon."

"I remember a desire to be powerful,"  Golbez said slowly.  "And I thought going to the moon would help me achieve that power."  He stopped walking and stared at the wall of crystal beyond his uncle, anger darkening again in his mind.  "I was a fool."

"You were misguided,"  Fu So Ya chided.  "And when I made you realize who you were, the the bond Zemus established was broken.  Because he had messed with your mind, most of your memory must have been erased."  He paused.  "I'm apologize," he said softly.  "I know it must trouble you, but...I don't believe I can bring it back."

Golbez shook his head.  "No, no," he said quickly.  "That's all right."  He looked down the path ahead of them.  "I don't need memories of the past to go on with my future."

Fu So Ya asked, "Does Cecil still have the Crystal?"

Golbez nodded.  "Yes," he said.  "When he returns to the Blue Planet, he'll find in his pouch that instead of the one Crystal, he'll have the original eight.  He'll put them back where they belong."

"Good," the old Lunar said.  After a short silence, he asked, jumping back to the earlier subject, "What do you remember of your childhood, Golbez?"

Golbez tilted his head, thinking.  "Not too much," he said.  "I remember my mother.  It isn't very clear...I remember my father.  I remember thinking of Cecil as my baby brother."  He blinked.  "I..that's funny, I also remember my name..."

"Your name?"  his uncle asked, puzzled.

He smiled slowly.  "Yeah, my name," he said.  "My full name.  Golbez...Benjamin...Ya."  He bit his lip.  "Ya....I don't deserve that name.  For now, I'll be Golbez Lunaar," he said.  "Or maybe, Ben Lunaar..."

As they started down the path again, Golbez asked, "Uncle Fu...do you think that, if I asked, the other Lunarians might call me Ben?"

Behind them, down at the bottom of the crystal staircase, was the blue armor.  Ruined, discarded, and forgotten, it would lay there forever to rust and crumble to nothing.

~Fin~

Author's notes:

Oi.  This project turned out bigger than I ever thought it would!  I took me about two weeks longer to write than I'd first thought, because frankly I didn't think about all the loose ends in the game I wanted to tie up!  The Crystal (what was that thing anyway?  Here's my answer!), how Golbez and Fu So Ya ever got to the Moon without the Big Whale (what did they do, climb up the Tower of Bab-il?  Heh.  Not likely.), and lastly, how Golbez felt about the whole thing.  You don't really get to see much inside of his character in the game.  He just switches from good to bad instantly, goes to fight Zemus, and then leaves.  I wanted to provide an insight to his character during the final battle, and I hope to high heaven that I've succeeded.

I've tried to say as close as possible to the U.S. script of Final Fantasy II.  So, instead of adding a lot of speech that wouldn't have quite been canonical to the game, I just made Golbez think a lot.  ^_~  In the later part of the script, I had to edit a few things because I think that the U.S. translators did a horrendous job.  Of course, dramatic effect was also a very deciding factor.  ;-)

Lastly, to those who haven't read Aywren's brilliant fic, The Coming of the Darkstar, maybe you didn't really get the ending.  All I have to say is...read it!!  *ahem*  Well, that and I'm such a fan of that fic I had to add in a gratuitous tie-in.  *grin*

And now, the author's thank yous:

I would like to thank the following people for help with the writing of this fanfic, for giving me ideas, and for plain and simple encouragement.

Aywren~The Darkstar fic helped to inspire this whole thing.  Really.  I was re-reading it when I decided I wanted to write a fic that helped to describe Golbez's transition from the Man of Darkness to, well...Ben Lunaar.  ^_~v  I hope you liked the ending.  *grin*  Oh yeah, here's an added thanks for having the U.S. script on your site...it helped a lot.  (And I didn't exactly want to play through the entire game just to get to the script at the end just to write the fic.)

Kalea Argent and Dark Logic~Kalea for encouraging me to use my Crystal theory in the fic, and Dark Logic for that very incredibly wonderful description of Zeromus.  Thank you a million times!

R-Syntyche, Janus Urr and Jamie Carlson and Anyone Else I Might Have Forgotten~For reading the drafts and offering encouragement.  Merci beaucoup!