DISCLAIMER: Final Fantasy VI and its characters are wholly the properties of Square Enix. This story is written purely for entertainment and not profit.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Thank you to those who have been reading so far. I hope you're enjoying the story. And now: Chapter 4.

Resolutions

Written by daBOSSz

Chapter 4: Cyan and Setzer

Flying by Doma Castle was unexpected, and had it been a few years ago, Cyan Garamonde would have asked Setzer why. Now, however, the castle no longer stood for much other than a tragic past that the fifty-six-year-old warrior had long put behind him.

"Sorry," Cyan heard Setzer apologize from the wheel. "I couldn't fly direct to Figaro today because of the winds. I didn't intend to pass by this place."

"Water under the bridge," Cyan responded using the same words he always did whenever anyone brought up his former home.

These days, the only aspect of Doma Castle that Cyan felt awful about was its ruined state thanks to a string of misfortunes that befell the once proud kingdom. Kefka's poisoning six years ago decimated the entire population in an instant, and the apocalypse had forced the castle onto its own island where it has since sat separated from areas that it was once connected to. This geographical disadvantage meant that no effort had been made by anyone to reclaim the castle and restore it to its former glory. Aside from a few stragglers, the last visitors to the castle that anyone knew of were Cyan and his companions five years ago when they defeated Wrexsoul and freed Cyan from the burdens of his past.

As much as Cyan would love to see Doma rebuilt—he would even volunteer to take charge of such a project—it simply would not make any practical sense to do so at the moment. The kingdom was long gone, the building was located where no one wanted to visit, and the cost to do so would financially cripple any nearby city or town multiple times over. As the world continued struggling to recover from Kefka's plight, the last focus of any governing body should be the restoration of a once-grand castle.

No, Cyan had moved on from Doma. He had found himself a new life in Maranda, having moved in with Lola shortly after Kefka's defeat. It was originally not his intention, as he had only passed through to meet Lola in person and apologize for deceiving her with his letters. To his surprise, relief, and eventually joy, Lola never held his actions against him, appreciating him for keeping her spirits alive during a time when she worried constantly about Kefka's light of judgment striking her down. They spent time talking about their pasts, loss of loved ones, and struggles to release their hearts from being trapped in tragedies. When Cyan accidentally slipped up and admitted that he no longer had a home to return to, Lola offered her home to him, informing him that she could use some company knowing that her boyfriend would never return from Mobliz.

Cyan found work in Maranda as a mercenary, often hired by the townsfolk as well as others from nearby Jidoor to fight off the various beasts and bandits. As life with Lola moved forward, the two gradually developed a strong father-daughter relationship. Lola had lost both parents when she was young, so it became easy for her to empathize with Cyan's own losses of Elayne and Owain. Eventually, the two realized that they filled each other's voids quite nicely: she had been looking for parental guidance and he had been seeking another life he could care for. A little over two years after he had moved to Maranda, they decided to make it official; thanks to Cyan's connection to Edgar, a trip to Figaro was all it took for Lola to become his adoptive daughter by royal decree.

Cyan could still remember how nervous Lola was the first time she referred to him as her father, admitting that she could not even consciously remember using that word at a young age because of how early she had lost her parents. Since then, she has asked him to train her to fight on her own, proclaiming that the state of the world and their tragic pasts meant she could no longer depend on someone else to be her protector all the time. Cyan was more than happy to take her on, training her the same way he used to train Owain and instilling in her the skills and discipline of a true samurai. She may have started later in life, but in the time that she had studied under him, Lola had managed to master the code of bushido and now often joined Cyan in defending Maranda from various threats.

Of course, Lola was not the only disciple Cyan took on. Gau, looking to continue integrating himself into his friends' world outside of the Veldt, visited Cyan occasionally to educate himself on proper conduct. Cyan found it fascinating that Gau, who was pretty much his exact opposite in every facet, actually went so far as to admit that he looked up to the old warrior as a role model. He smiled every time he thought about it, as his relationship with Gau further illustrated just how tight their mismatched family truly was.

Cyan took a peak at Gau, who was holding himself together quite well aboard the airship, having improved greatly from his younger days when he was fearful of heights. Like many others who knew Gau, Cyan never figured that Relm would fall for him, but Gau had a way of charming himself into people's hearts.

As Doma Castle faded into the distance, Cyan's thoughts shifted to the wedding ahead. Having already experienced the blessings that came with establishing a new life for himself in the post-Kefka world, he felt overjoyed that Celes and Locke had found each other, and he eagerly anticipated the opportunity to give them his own blessings.

Running a business had never been Setzer Gabbiani's goal. He was a gambler who preferred high-risk, high-reward situations, and business always felt like a toned-down version of gambling. However, in the aftermath of Kefka's defeat, Setzer needed to take Celes' advice once more to find yet another new dream, and with the help of his friends, he quickly discovered it without having to settle in some boring town.

The Falcon had served its first purpose in transporting him and his companions around during their quest to defeat Kefka. With no desire to become a sitting duck, Setzer decided to turn the airship into his new permanent home. At first, he took the mercenary route similar to Cyan, traveling from place to place, fighting various beasts for those who beckoned, and ferrying those who could afford to pay for his airship's services. Nevertheless, the love of gambling flowed through his blood, and when he confessed to Edgar during a trip to Figaro that he felt unsatisfied with his mercenary work, the King of Figaro suggested that he convert the Falcon into a mobile casino similar to what he originally had on the Blackjack. This time, though, instead of simply keeping his games private, Edgar proposed that Setzer travel around the world and allow the public to enter and gamble to their hearts' delight wherever he decided to stop.

"No matter how troubled the world gets, there will always be some wealthy folks with money that they're willing to throw away," Edgar had said. "Why not let them bet it away with you?"

It took some time, but as the world gradually recovered and more people earned enough disposable income, the Falcon Casino became a welcomed attraction almost anywhere it went. Even among those who did not gamble, the Falcon was now viewed as a symbolic representation of life's joy that Kefka and (to a lesser extent) Gestahl had deprived the entire planet of during their oppressive and chaotic reigns.

No, Setzer had never envisioned himself running a business, but after a few years of experience, he had grown fond of his work. The casino made plenty of money for the thirty-three-year-old gambling pilot, far more than he needed to support himself and his airship, so he used much of what was left over to fund various rebuilding projects across the world. This generosity earned Setzer even greater accolades, and his reputation had changed completely from the pre-apocalypse years when he was better known as a man who kept to himself and pined for famous opera singers. Of course, having been part of the crew that saved the world from Kefka's wrath did not hurt either.

On this day, however, the Falcon Casino was closed for business. As much as he loved his work, all of his customers knew that Setzer never allowed his work to sacrifice his relationship with his closest friends. When any of them needed his airship for transport, he would be there without any conditions, and today, it was only natural that he was the one ferrying several of them to a wedding that had been years in the making, a wedding that he felt honored to be invited to as well.

Setzer chuckled a bit inside every time he thought about how he had actually come close to marrying the bride-to-be, but Celes, being as clever as she was, had used his own love of gambling to fool him. It was a moment that he and his companions had looked back on multiple times over the years and laughed at. As disappointed as he was at the time for losing someone as gorgeous as Celes, he was now glad he did; she and Locke were the perfect match, and he could not be happier for both of them.

As he turned the Falcon on a straight course toward Figaro Castle, Setzer took a quick glance back at his three passengers. Cyan was busying himself with some exercises, while Relm stood beside Gau with both arms clutched around his waist. Having transported them too many times to count, Setzer knew that Relm was still aware of Gau's fear of heights, and her care for him never failed to bring a smile to his face.

He may not have found his own perfect match yet, but the joy that Setzer felt for his companions who had found love in each other was satisfying enough for now.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: To be honest, I struggled a bit to write Cyan's and Setzer's stories. When I play the game, I always have trouble paying as much attention to their stories as those of the other characters, and I can't explain why. Don't get me wrong; I love all the characters in Final Fantasy VI, but it's always harder to focus on these two for some reason. Hopefully, this is satisfying enough.

Please feel free to leave me your feedback. See you next chapter!