- Final Fantasy III - Final Fantasy VII - Breath of Fire III - Megaman X - The
Little Mermaid -
Author's Notes
Chapter Notes
These are the notes I tagged on to each chapter. Why would you want to read
these? I don't know. Ask your psychic friend.
Chapter One
|
This is my first crossover fic, so I went all out to include all my favorite
characters! Yay! Don't feel bad if you don't understand it all at first, I
don't expect you to.
|
Chapter Two
|
Here we go, into Chapter 2. It gets really confusing from here on out- until
the story gets started at least. Enjoy! And hang in there! It will make
sense soon!
|
Chapter Three
|
I have received very good comments from the Brick Elite Squadron (what the
hell??) who I have let read the first two chapters. Thanks to Keffy and
Ariel for the encouragement!
|
Chapter Four
|
Gee! Writing crossovers are fun! Why haven't you ever told me, Kefka, you
loser! Haha, just kidding mah man. This is a very climactic chapter- as it
unlocks some secrets to Terra's past, Espers in general, and I kill off the
first character.
|
Chapter Five
|
This will be, without a doubt, Kefka's favorite chapter. I introduce two new
villains... who any of you RPG players will completely hate me for bringing
them back. Sorry it's so short. I saved a lot of the good battles for the
upcoming chapters!
|
Chapter Six
|
This is probably my favorite chapter, since it is where Terra and Setzer
realize they have feelings for each other. However- Setzer has just lost his
*hem* rather obnoxious fiance (o_O) and Ariel has just opened new wounds in
Terra's past concerning Leo. Will these two love-beaten lonely adventurers
ever truely find love again? Could I possibly say love any more in a
paragraph? Aren't these the longest author notes you have ever read? Don't
you just want me to shut up and let you read the story?... Okay, go ahead.
|
Chapter Seven
|
I don't know about Kefka, but I'm positive that Ariel will hate this chapter.
(Oh, I'm aware that both of those characters are in the story, but I am
talking about my excellently good friends and previewers of this fic.) This
is where it all, well, blows up. It starts with a big emerald bang, goes
through a tearjerking death, and ends with a harsh betrayal. Have a nice
day. (BTW- I'm sorry if I make X out to look like Jenny Mels in this fic,
but that's how it is. Of course, only mah bruddah Rune knows who Jenny is,
so read on without delay.)
|
Chapter Eight
|
This is it. The final chapter. I won't give anything away, but I will tell
you that most of the epilogues are pretty short (unlike the real FF3). In
case you're dense, remember that the only guy left is Nicholi. Rei was
killed by Kefka, Emmy was nuked by X, and Vinnie and Keffy were sent back to
their own realities via Terra's hunter. And I got all the way through the
story without Ariel breaking into song!! WOO HOO!
|
Roles of the Characters
These are basic sketches of why I chose each character in the story.
Terra Branford
|
I couldn't imagine a fic set in the FF3 world without Terra.
She is the heart of the story. I decided to add more depth
to the role the Espers play in everyday life and add more
danger and form to Goloros' threats. Terra also acts as a
reality check, she takes the role of the practical one in
many of the encounters during the story.
|
Locke Cole
|
While a more or less minor character, I needed to add Locke.
Not only does his role as a warrior shine in the battles with
the Emerald WEAPON, but his presence simply reenforces the
setting of the FF3 contiuum.
|
Celes Chere
|
Truth be told, I had not originally planned to include Celes
in this fic. However, the inevitable addition of Locke, who
is Celes' "signifigant other" forces Celes into her role as a
doubtful yet caring Magitek Knight. After I decided to drop
Edgar from the story, the thought occured to me to place
Celes in the Emerald WEAPON fiasco, thus strengthening her
role. I scrapped this idea to take the strain off of a
romantic development between her and Locke that could have
only served to add more confusion to the storyline.
|
Strago Magus
|
Since the story deals highly with magic and Espers, I decided
that Strago would be a worthwhile addition. It also occured
to me that someone would do well to play the role as
Nicholi's former friend. Besides, I couldn't very well have
put Relm in the story without her dear old granddad, now
could I?
|
Relm Arrowny
|
Relm is my favorite character from FF3, so it was only
natural that I include her. I began to regret it, however,
soon into the story, when I realized that Relm as a wise-
cracking obnoxious 23 year old woman just wasn't as cute as
when she was younger. Plus, it is very difficult to write
her infamous "Sketch" ability into the storyline, which was
how I originally planned to fell Emmy. Bad discision on my
part, I guess.
|
Setzer Gabbianni
|
Setzer is another of my favorite characters out of the FF3
storyline, but the main reason I added him was because of his
background. True to the fact that in FF3 he has none,
allowing me to write in whatever I chose. Therefore I could
base his and Terra's relationship on kind of a "brothers of a
tortured soul" type thing. Besides, who else in FF3 could
you see with a brand-spankin' new airship?
|
Candi Elfin
|
Candi more or less represents what any die-hard gambler's
girlfriend might resemble: a ditzy, slutty blonde. Not that
Setzer is a pervert, it is simply that he doesn't want to
spend the rest of his life alone. It was fun killing Candi
off- neither of my "previewers" liked her, and neither did I.
|
Vincent Valentine
|
I changed Vincent's character quite a bit. While FF7 gives
insight into Vincent's past (not a whole freakin' lot, mind
you) it never gives any real reason why he and Cloud are
buddy-buddy. The only reason I saw in the game was Vinnie's
hunt for Hojo. After destroying Sephiroth, Vincent felt as
though he had commited a great injustice against the love of
his life, Lucrecia. In the story, Vincent is portrayed as
almost a doormat, allowing himself to be manipulated by his
superiors. His goal, according to the story, is to gain the
power offered to him by Goloros and clear his sins... and
the strain is so great he doesn't care who he has to kill to
achieve it.
|
Rei
|
I battled myself for a while on whether or not to add Rei.
Originally, the idea was to add Dekar, who would fill the
role of the dimwitted warmhearted do-gooder of the story.
But since I've been on this BoF3 kick recently, I chose Rei
to fill this void. However, when I asked myself if he would
honestly follow Terra "out of the goodness of his heart" I
came up with the answer "no." The Rei I know would have
followed Goloros simply because that was the only real way
home. Rei epitomizes what BoF3 makes him out to be- confused
and searching for answers that simply aren't there.
|
Ariel
|
I thought, at first, of adding Mulan to this role, so as to
have another active character in the swordplay of Chapter 8.
Mulan simply wasn't innocent and naive enough to play the
part I was looking for. Ariel, however, worked perfectly.
Besides, it serves to feed my immense Arieholism. o_O
|
Megaman X
|
Okay. I had all of my bases covered for supplement
characters- another FF character, another RPG character, and
(sigh) Ariel. All I needed now was someone from a platform
game. Bang. X. It seems to me that he is the favorite 90's
side scrolling champion. Plus he and his skills fit
perfectly into the Emmy sidequest. He is one of the story's
finest characters.
|
Kefka
|
After I realized that Goloros and Nicholi would need a
serious edge, I drew up plans to add Keffy to the story. He
didn't add as much as I would have liked, but... it was
still fun, wasn't it?
|
Emerald WEAPON
|
Talk about a snap decision. I wanted to split the party in
half for a few chapters, and pit some of them against an
impossible enemy. Originally, Relm was supposed to kill Emmy
with her Sketch ability, but that would have been the epitome
of cheese. Not that X's absorbation wasn't, I just liked it
better. =)
|
Nicholi
|
I wanted to have Terra's opposite, so to speak, in the story.
Another half-Esper with different ideals. Nicholi is a
splendid character and a picture-perfect villain.
|
Goloros
|
Likewise, I needed a villain whose own power would destroy
him in the end. Nothing but the power of Nothingness came to
mind, so I chose Goloros, a stray Esper with the power of Mu.
|
The Council of Esperkind
|
I added the Council of Esperkind to go more in-depth to
Terra's quest, and chose the Espers I did because they were
my favorites. After doing this, I felt it necessary to bring
into play each character's views on relationships of humans
within themselves and with other races.
|
Triton, Nina, Zero, Sigma, Ryu, Eric
|
These people are very minor characters I added just for the
sake of this being a crossover fic. For those of you who
don't know- Ryu is the hero from Breath of Fire 3, and Rei's
best friend and adoptive brother. Nina is Ryu's girlfriend
and the princess of a kingdom called Wyndia. Triton is
Ariel's father, king of the merfolk. Eric is a young prince
and Ariel's husband. Zero is X's underling and best friend.
Sigma is X and Zero's arch nemesis. None of them are
developed in the story, aye?
|
Characters that didn't make it
|
There were a lot of characters I thought about adding but
decided not to. The two most noticable ones, who almost had
Vincent's part were Ramza and Faris (FFT and FFV. Where is
FFU?). I didn't add either one, since I haven't beaten
either of these signifigantly awesome games. Another
candidate for Rei's job was Dekar (Lufia 2)... who I didn't
add since I was on this BoF3 kick recently. Mulan didn't
make it because she lacks Ariel's girlish charm (for
obvious reasons). Other characters, who I scrapped entirely,
were Oddyseus (from the Oddessey, which I didn't spell
right), who I didn't add because his character wouldn't fit
in... and the Terminator (who would've just made the story
way too overly weird). Finally, I gave it my best shot to
keep Sephie out of the story, thank God. I'm not a total
idiot.
|
Reader Reviews
Only two souls were lucky enough to read each chapter hot off my Notepad-
my best buddy Kefka and my oh-so-cute admirer Ariel. They have graciously
reviewed my fic to the best of their abilities.
BTW- As far as I know, Kefka is not an Arielholic and Ariel has never played
an RPG. Therefore neither of them have as firm a grasp on the story as I do.
And if you're one of my posse and feeling left out because I didn't let you
in on the story (notably Aurora) don't feel bad. =)
(Ariel's Review, my love from DalNet's infamous #ariel's)
Okay, here's my summary of "World's Away From Reality". Chapter one was the
best possible way to have started this story. However, for us non-RPGer's it
would have been nice if the characters were explained a little more, thus,
eliminating the need for a re-read, (as I had to do.). Chapter two is a great
way to begin showing us where this story is going and explains a few
questions I had after reading chapter one. Chapter three develops our
characters more and was helpful for me. It let me know who was on what side
and why. Chapter four gave me insight on Terra's past, (oh-so-touching) and
the Candi's death was just plain cool. Chapter five made me shudder. Kefka
sounds like one pretty mean guy. I think I'll stay away from him!! Chapter
six made me wonder if the "good" side would end up the winning side or not.
I figured the Emerald WEAPON would end up killing all our hero's with the
violent attack it gave. Chapter seven was my favorite chapter of them all. I
like Rei since the start and, although, yes, he did die *sniff* he was given
such a heroic death that I smiled. (I think Ariel and Rei would be cute
together if he hadn't been killed off!) Chapter eight was the best, and
really only good way to end this story. I hated to see it end yet sighed with
relief to know our hero's were safe. (Except Candi and Rei, but Candi was a
slut and Rei... *sigh* my sweet Rei.)
Anyhow, so here's Ariel's review of "World's Away From Reality". I give it
two thumbs and a nose up. I think I'll go rent me a playstation and get the
game BoF3.
Rei..... *sssssiiiiiiigggggghhhhhh*
email:
alora27@hotmail.com
*Kisses*
(Keffy's review, he's my evil dark side with a jazzy kick.)
Cripes, Brick! Now THIS is a story! Worlds Away from Reality is an epic type
story, where fictional characters get drawn from their own realities by
Nicholi, a half-esper like Terra and the son of Alexander, who is controlled
by the esper Goloros, the Esper of Mu, nothingness. He brings characters
from games and movies (which are in books in the FF3 realm), and brings them
to a single continium, FF6. Unbeknownst to Goloros, some of the people he
summoned do not wish to help him. It is a road that these helpful adventurers
will help our favorite FF6 friends beat Goloros.
Brick really wrote a good story here. I wrote several MST's to it. It is a
great story, rivaled by some of the best fics on the net, like "Children of
Jenova," "Crisis from the Sky," "Tasteless Revenge," and other great fics. It
is one of the most original ideas i have seen. And I like how Kefka comes
back. *evil grin*
I also enjoyed the character development that went into it. Many of the
characters got into new and different feelings. I believe this is a key part
of a good fanfic. Brick has also mastered great plot conversions, not having
multiple subplots.
email-
kefka@banet.net
Keffy's shameless self-plug-
DSOTM
Plans For A Sequel?
Kefka and I have thrown around the possibility of a sequel, in which case I
will pick another previewer (of course Kefka will be one, he's such a
dickens) and start the whole deal over again. No stone-hard ideas yet, but
you can rest assured that any sequel will be set in a world OTHER than FF3
and will feature a (mostly) new cast of characters... but maybe the same
villain. Yay.
FAQ
Okay, these aren't exactly questions asked about my story, not most of them
anyway. I hope it will clear up any murky ideas you may have about the story
though.
Q) When does the story take place?
A) It varies. The story takes place 12 years after Kefka is destroyed
(meaning Terra is 31), 10 years after Ariel and Eric are wed (meaning
Ariel is 26), 9 years after Balio and Sunder beat up Rei, Teepo, and
Ryu (that is, 4 years after the defeat of Myria), and 5 years after
Cloud and co. defeated Sephie. As for X, well, your guess is as good
as mine. Perhaps we'll see after the FINAL Megaman game is released
(we'd have a better chance of finding a man with seven nostrils).
Q) X is a Reploid? Where did he get the powers to 'scan' and 'absorb'
stuff? That gem on his forehead is what stores his weaponry?
A) X is a Reploid. That goes without saying. His absorbation powers
are derived right from the series. After getting roughed up by a
boss, X can use their abilities. His scanning power is just that- by
using infrared sensors and other handy high-tech stuff he can see if
there are any humans in the vicinity (since he is programmed to
protect them). And whenever X beats a boss, his little shiny helmet
flashes, so I assumed that is where he stores his new weapons.
Q) Why didn't you use any classic abilities from the games?
A) I did. However, I did it differently than many fics. Rather than
coming right out and saying, "So and so casted such and such a spell"
I described them. Some examples- in "Rei's New Boss" that neat thing
that Kefka does to inflict so much pain upon his little gimp is none
other than Fallen One, that bitch of a spell from FF3. The "colored
magic stones" Vincent is referred to as having are materia. And both
Vincent and Rei use their transformations in the story (Galian Beast
and Weretiger). If I were to have just used names it would have been
"Kefka used Fallen One against Rei and Rei's HP dropped to 1." GAY!
Q) Why did you change Ariel's character so much?
A) I didn't. I tried my hardest to picture Ariel as a 26 year old woman
rather than a 16 year old mermaid brat. I thought I accomplished the
job nicely.
Q) Is Rei in love with Ariel?
A) (laughs) No. He fears her. In BoF3 Nina treats Rei like a real
idiot. Therefore, he fears royalty. He doesn't see Ariel for a girl
who needs protection, rather a princess who demands his respect
(although Ariel demands nothing from Rei at all). The fact is, Rei
just isn't smart enough to know the difference.
Q) Where did you swipe the line "Doesn't this just beat all?"
A) Rei says that line in practically every scene in BoF3.
Q) Explain "Mu."
A) Nothingness, a void. Mu does not exist, kind of like a black hole.
Therefore anyone who relies on that power (that is, Goloros and
Nicholi) must use the illusion that they have power to win any
battles.
Q) I thought the Espers had died during FF3.
A) Well, they didn't. They simply "migrated" to a new world, allowing
the humans believe they had died to save themselves any future grief.
Goloros is the last remaining one on the human side.
Q) Terra's green hair is a derivitave of her Esperian heritage? And why
did you change it to blonde?
A) It sure is. Had FF3 been like its predecessors (FF5 and 2, to be
exact) where characters had blue, green, pink, and purple hair at
every turn, but they don't. It's more realistic... except for
Terra, leading me to believe it is because she is part Esper. As for
her blonde hair in the last line of the story, I chose that color
because it is light- and Terra needs to have light or pale hair
doesn't she?
Q) Can I have a cookie?
A) No. They're mine.
Q) Setzer and Terra! Are you nuts!
A) Like I said, that "brothers of a tortured soul" routine makes for
nice storyline. Besides, I picked up on a few hints during FF3...
they're probably meaningless but you can't disagree. First off,
Setzer drops the whole "Celes/Maria" stuff after Terra is found and
rejoins the group. Second, Setzer is the one who holds onto Terra
as Kefka attacks their airship at the end of the World of Balance.
Lastly, Setzie and Terra are the last characters to exchange words in
FF3:
Terra: Thank you Setzer!
Setzer: Didn't I tell you? This is the world's fastest airship!
Pretty insignifigant, but it's just my personal opinion.
The Official Disclaimer
Rather than add another disclaimer onto every chapter (like some people I
know) I'll just run it all down here.
I am not under the employ of Square, Disney, or Capcom in any way, shape, or
form. This story does NOT serve to endorse their products (they're only
three of the biggest companies in the entertainment market), advertise their
characters, or fortell any big mergers in the future (not that another
Square/Capcom RPG wouldn't kick ass... I'm thinking Megaman RPG!). This
story was written for entertainment purposes only, and cannot (and SHOULD
not) be sold for any kind of profit or published for the sake of those damn
copyright laws. It is also not for distribution on sites beyond my
knowledge; that is, if ya wanna use it e-mail me first at rscibbe@citicom.com
and ask for it by name. And the gun I held to Keffy and Ariel's head to make
'em read it wasn't THAT big...
Brick's Final Word
Worlds Away From Reality was written entirely by me, Brickroad, inspirational
sources from all over the known world. Show love to the Kefmeister and my
sad-eyed angel Ariel for reading all this crap for me, writing the reviews,
and helping me polish it all off. SPECIAL thanks to Keffy (again) and Aurora
for kicking me in the ass to get this thing written. NO thanks to Cyris,
Mog, and some other nameless punks who don't care what I write. Any sequels,
supplements, and parodies of this story (if you feel like writing them) can
be sent to
rscibbe@citicom.com
.
|