--Series Introduction (Or: Stuff that nobody pays any attention to except the Author ^^;)--
I love Final Fantasy 3 (FF6 in Japan). How they ever managed to cram such a rich, wonderful world in that little cartrige is beyond me. Now, while I must admit that the powering up got really tedious at times (especially fighting 256 battles in order to remove the curse from the Palladin Shield @o@), what I really liked was the various plots (and subplots) throughout the story.
And the music. Wow. Listening to the Ending Overture, you almost wonder if they got a real orchestra to play it. And so what if the opera scene was a cheesy MIDI? It was still absolutely hilarious.
Speaking of humor, what Squaresoft game would be complete without it? There are so many funny scenes one could write a whole book about it, but my favorite is Ultros. He just won't go away! And he has such great moments! (He is one of those few, proud villains of Squaresoft that don't die.)
There are many serious scenes as well, but sometimes that got to be a bit overboard: 11 of the 14 characters have tragic pasts, and entire side quests are dedicated to their angst. And lets not forget General Leo, who in his 15 minutes of fame kicked butt, but was no match for Kefka.
Ah, Kefka. That laugh. That creepy theme music. That total dedication to evil, madness, and ability to irritate. You just love to hate him. Makes you want to power all of your characters up to level 99 so that you can whack him to death. (Or not. :)
Anyway...
The ending of FF3 left many loose ends. Although it's rather obvious where some of them are headed (Locke and Celes, hint, hint ^_~), I couldn't help but wonder how each character dealt with his/her inner struggles. So I wrote this story.
The title was inspired from Terra's speech to Kefka when he was rambling about the meaningless of it all. The names of the characters are taken from the English version of the game when the credits roll.
Okay! Enough blabbering. On with the story!
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Life's Little Triumphs--The End...
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Just a little bit of a rehash of what happened at the end of the game.
(A big thanks to http://www.azstarnet.com/~cbaoth/final_fantasy/faq-hint/ff3quote.txt for most of the dialogue)
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Terra found herself along with the others in front of a strange land mass so swollen with magical energy that bits of it would condense and drip off, sparkling, into the oblivion below. Before Terra could really appreciate the awsome, awful beauty of the land mass, a strange pyramid-shaped forcefield appeared, followed by a hair-raising laugh that could only belong to Kefka.
"Welcome, friends!" Kefka greeted, dripping with sarcasm, as he materialized within the forcefield. "I knew you'd make it here, so I've prepared some suitable entertainment for you!"
"How long are you going to let the destruction continue?" Terra demanded, forgetting for the moment her fear.
Kefka, however, didn't seem to hear. "I've tapped into the ultimate power. Observe...!"
With a wave of his hand, a very surprised Locke was lifted into the air by an invisible force out over the darkness.
"Such magnificent power!" Kekfa gloated. "You are like insects to me!" With another wave of his hand, Celes also rose into the air. "I will exterminate everyone, and everything!" Just as suddenly as he had levitated them, Kefka let them drop back onto the platform.
"People will keep rebuilding the things you take from them!" Terra shouted.
Kefka only smiled. "Then I'll destroy those, too." Scenes of the destruction of Vector, the apocalypse after the Unbalance, and the various towns hit by the Light of Judgement appeared. "Why do people rebuild things they know are going to be destroyed?" Terra recognized Albrook, Moblitz, and Jidoor in the images. "Why do people cling to life when they know they can't live forever?" Kefka gestured towards the group. "Think how meaningless each of your lives is!"
Terra had heard just enough of Kefka's nonsense. "It's not the net result of one's life that is important! It's the day-to-day concerns, the personal victories, and the celebration of life...and love! It's enough if people are able to experience the joy that each day can bring!"
Kefka sneered at Terra's words. "And have you found your 'joy', in this nearly dead world of ours?"
Terra nodded. "Yes!" She thought of the children in Moblitz. "I know what love is!"
Locke stepped forward to stand next to Terra. "And I have learned to celebrate life... and the living."
Cyan, brandishing the Aura, spoke up next. "My family lives on inside of me."
Edgar, too, added his voice to the group. "It is my dream to build a kingdom in which I can guarantee freedom and dignity to everyone."
Sabin placed a hand on Edgar's shoulder. "I have come to experience anew the love of my brother!"
Celes reached out, took Locke's hand, and gave it a small squeeze. "I've met someone who can accept me for what I am."
Strago pulled Relm close to his side. "I have a special little Granddaughter."
Relm gave Strago a hug in return. "And I have a brave Grandpa who'll stand by me through it all!"
Setzer smiled sadly. "My friend's airship...and her love!"
"I have my friends here!" Mog declared.
Gau grinned. "You my friends! Me AWOOO all of you!"
Kefka, completely stunned, turned his back to the group. For a brief moment, Terra dared to hope that there was something in this horrible monster that was worth redeeming.
But then, Kefka turned around again, disgust clearly written all over his face. "This is sickening! You sound like chapters from a self-help booklet!" Magic began to swirl wildly. "Prepare yourselves!" Kefka raised his arms, and the entire mountain began to glow. "Now, for my next trick, I will make you all...disappear!"
Terra felt her heart sink as the glow grew brighter. "Kefka, you don't know what you're doing! Stop!"
Kefka shouted something unintelligible, and a beam of pure death shot out towards the ground. Terra could *feel* the Earth crying out as it was ripped open by the searing beam.
Kefka raised a fist. "I command the greatest power in the universe! You are all helpless before me!"
The entire land mass burst apart, leaving only a single fire-dotted peak at which Kefka was at the top.
Kefka raised another fist. "I will destroy everything...I will create a monument to non-existence!"
Terra saw another rising pillar and took the chance to jump onto it. "Life will go on! There will always be people, and dreams!"
"No!" Kefka began jumping up and down like a small child having a temper tantrum. "I will hunt them down. I will destroy it all! Destroy! Destroy! Destroy!"
Locke, too, rode a pillar to the top. "We will not allow you to harm another living thing."
"Hee, hee, hee! But what fun is destruction if no 'precious' lives are lost!" With that, Kefka released another blast.
At that moment, Terra knew this mockery of a man, made insane by the power he tried to weild, had to be stopped. "It's over, Kefka!"
Kefka laughed. "Oh! But it hasn't yet begun! And I'm giving you a front-row seat!"
The group had very little time to react as the very ground beneath them erupted to life and they found themselves facing a horrendous, perverted transformation of Kefka. The powers of the Statues had been so twisted by Kefka's evil that they were no longer recognizable.
Keeping her grip on the Atma Weapon steady, Terra lunged at the creature with a piercing battle cry. Celes followed, slashing with her Illumina. Behind her, Mog began chanting Ultima, the most powerful spell of destruction. Gogo, mimicking Mog, also started to chant as well. The beast retaliated with its own spells and attacks, but it was no match for this determined group.
The party barely had a chance to pause for breath before they ascended to the next level. Four tortured forms were entwined upon the strange fabric which held the thing together; one of them, 'arms' spread apart and 'head' hung low, looked as if it was being crucified. This one took longer to take down than the previous, since there were four targets to hit, and the party had to restore their life from the Diffuser spell that was cast upon them. Before the last of the four finally died, it inflicted ten random hits upon the group, bringing Gogo's life to a dangerously low level.
Before anyone could cure Gogo, however, they found themselves standing before what appeared to be the head of a woman wrapped in a shawl and a reclining man. Fortunately, Celes was able to cast a Cure 3 on the entire party before anything happened. Gogo, calling upon Sabin's Blitz skills, unleashed the mighty Bum Rush upon the woman. She simply cast Pearl Wind, though, and healed both creatures, while the man attacked the group with the searing fire of Merton. The group pressed on, however, and wore down both the man and the woman bit by bit. Of course, the two would not give up without a fight; as parting shots they cast Stillness, taking out Celes and Mog with flashing pillars of light. Sabin and Edgar took up the places of their fallen comrades, promising silently that they would make Kefka pay for what he had done.
The group passed through a layer of clouds and found Kefka at long last. Terra couldn't stop staring at what Kefka became--a gigantic, purple thing--in morbid facination. Wrapped in a red cloth, with wings growing out of his back, he looked frighteningly beautiful. Almost like an angel. Almost.
"Life... Dreams... Hope..." Kefka spat, as if each word were a dirty object. "Where did they come from? And where are they headed?" The unanswered question hung in the air for a few moments. "These things... I am going to destroy!" Once again, his laugh echoed through the plain.
As soon as that ear-grating sound died down, Kefka got down to business: he cast Fallen One, leaving everyone barely alive.
As Gogo cured the party, Terra felt a familiar fire burn within her, the same one she had experienced when she came in contact with Tritoch. All at once, memories came flooding back into her: Kefka, doing horrible experiments upon her; Kefka, robbing her of her self and her memories with the Slave Crown; Kefka, ordering her to destroy Maranda; Kefka, forcing her to...
The burning fire became a blazing inferno that was visible to even those at the bottom. Power surged through Terra as her body shifted into a form that she had once feared, even loathed.
Kefka didn't seem to be impressed by the living torch which Terra became. "The end comes... beyond chaos." The battlefield crackled with energy, then exploded in a cacaphony of light, sound, and pain as Kefka unleashed the Goner spell.
Terra didn't even blink. The Atma Weapon in her hand glowed even more brightly, testifying to its function as a tool for destruction. Sabin, Edgar, and Gogo backed up Terra's attacks with one Ultima upon another.
"Damn!" Sabin exclaimed. "This guy just won't quit!"
'Not if I can help it!' Terra thought with determination. She lept towards the purple monstrosity and put every ounce of her energy into her sword. Time seemed to stand still as the Atma Weapon swung through the air towards Kefka.
At first, it seemed like Terra's hit had no effect whatsoever. Then, everyone heard the familiar cracking sound and saw the burst of light that always occurred when a strong enemy was defeated. But instead of disappearing quietly, Kefka disintigrated bit by bit from bottom to top. As he did, some stared, while others turned their faces away.
A loud rumbling jolted everyone back to reality. Umaro and Shadow, who had been trailing behind, hurried forward to see what was going on.
"The tower's falling apart!" Celes realized. "Come on, everybody! We've got to get out of here!"
Terra, still in her Esper form, began walking forward, but her legs suddenly gave out and she collapsed.
Locke rushed forward to support her. "Terra! What's happening?"
A tiny green piece of rock floated out of Terra's pouch.
"The Magicite!" Edgar gasped.
One by one, each piece of magicite rose into the air and shattered completely.
"What the hell is going on?!?" Sabin demanded.
"Of course..." mumbled Strago. "Magic is disappearing from this world...the Espers can no longer exist..."
Locke looked up, alarmed. "You mean Terra, too?"
Strago didn't reply.
Terra forced herself to stand. "Come on. I can lead you out with the last of my energy."
Before anyone could protest, Terra walked towards the exit. One by one, they followed her out, not quite daring to hope, but not quite daring to dread, either.
**CYAN as Cyan Garramonde**
As Cyan decended the first flight of stairs, it shook violently and disappeared in a mighty jolt, leaving Edgar, who was behind Cyan, hanging in midair.
"Cyan!" Edgar called out, holding on for dear life. "There should be a switch that reactivates the stairs. Think you can handle it?"
"Machines...I hate machines!" Cyan muttered as studied the strange patterns on the ground. Finally, he found what he hoped was the switch and jumped on it with all his might. To his immense relief, the stairs reappeared under Edgar.
"Thanks!" An equally relieved Edgar said, making his way down the stairs.
Cyan struck a heroic pose. "One only has to show technology who's boss!"
**SETZER as Setzer Gabbiani**
Setzer, Edgar, and Celes came to the end of a corridor which had two doors.
"Which way?" Celes wondered.
Setzer fished out a coin. "Heads, we go right. Tails, we go left." He tossed the coin into the air. It clattered to a stop facing 'heads'.
Celes and Edgar looked at one another, then shrugged. "Okay..."
As Celes headed towards the right door, however, Setzer was suddenly seized by an unmistakable feeling of danger.
"Hold it!" Setzer yelled, pushing Celes back. Moments later, the door on the right exploded, sending bits of burning metal flying everywhere.
Celes' eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "My God..."
"Err..." Setzer pointed at the other door. "Let's go *this* way instead!"
Edgar smiled. "How did you know?"
Sezter wagged a finger at Edgar. "Sometimes, you just have to *feel* your way through a situation!" Laughing, the trio continued through the door on the left. As they went, Edgar heard Sezter mutter: "Daryl...I'm starting to sound just like you..."
**EDGAR as Edgar Roni Figaro and SABIN as Sabin Rene Figaro**
Edgar, Celes, Sabin, and Setzer came upon a locked door. As Edgar tried to open it--'Isn't this supposed to be Locke's job?' he wondered to himself--the structure above him shuddered, and a large metal beam above him began to fall. Edgar closed his eyes, preparing for the worst...
...and opened them again just in time to see Sabin catch the beam with his arms.
"I didn't abandon the kingdom, brother..." Sabin said quietly. "I knew you'd make the better king, so I went into the mountains to train so that I could help you someday..." he grinned. "Now I know why I have these stupid muscles!"
The door finally opened. With a grunt, Sabin tossed the beam away and went into the door after Celes and Sezter.
Edgar paused a moment before following to consider how close he was to death. 'Thanks, little brother...'
**MOG as Mog**
"Watch out, Mog," Edgar called behind him as he exited the tube the group had been crawling through. "The ground ahead's a bit unstable."
Edgar's words proved to be true when Mog joined him on the platform, their combined weight causing it to collapse. Edgar managed to jump to safety, but Mog was stuck at the edge of the hole.
"Help!" Mog yelled, panicking. "Heeelp!"
"Coming!" Edgar shouted back. Seeing the hook at the other side of the room, Edgar hit upon an idea; searching along the wall, he found the controls and began manipulating them. In a few moments, Mog was safely at the end of the hook.
"Watch the hair!" Mog cried, flailing his arms about, referring to his single strand of hair of which the moogle was extremely protective and proud. "Watch the hair!"
Edgar couldn't help but laugh.
**UMARO as Umaro**
Celes and Setzer came upon another locked door.
"It won't open!" Celes exclaimed. She tried to break it open by throwing herself against it, but the door didn't budge.
Umaro, coming up behind them, bellowed loudly. "U`ghaa!"
Celes and Sezter gave a little start as the yeti simply carved out a path to another door with its body by ramming repeatedly against the rocks. After they recovered from their surprise, the went to the other door, and finding it open, went in.
Umaro raised his arms into the air and gave a roar of victory. "U`ghaaa! R`waaa!"
**GOGO as Gogo**
The moment that Sabin, Celes, Gogo, and Sezter stepped into the room, the floor fell apart, leaving Celes on one side of the hole, Gogo on the other, and the rest trapped at the entrance.
Celes studied the switches on the wall before reporting: "The switches have to be pressed simultaneously."
"Gogo!" Sabin called. "Watch Celes and do exactly what she does!"
Gogo nodded, and in a few moments, the mimic was even breathing and blinking at the same time as Celes.
'Wow! Gogo's amazing!' Celes thought, before heading towards the switches. In a matter of moments, she and Gogo pressed all of the switches, and the plate that Sabin and Sezter had been standing on moved towards the right so that they were able to continue on. Gogo continued to copy Celes as she walked out, but forgot about the hole in the ground.
Celes tried very hard not to giggle as she helped Gogo out.
**GAU as Gau**
"This is going to be a *long* way down," Celes observed, looking at the winding path that stretched below them.
"A *very* long way," Edgar agreed.
Gau paced the edge of the path for a few moments. Then, his eyes lit up and his mouth spread into a wide grin. "Gau find short cut!"
"Huh?" Celes' jaw dropped as Gau pried loose some rocks blocking a long tube that led to a lower path.
"Nice shortcut," Edgar commented, before sitting down at the entrance to the tube. "Geronimo!" He shouted as he slid down. When Celes was sure that Edgar had made it to the bottom, she followed suit.
When they reached where Gau had ended up, though, the two discovered that the wild boy had another idea.
"Gau find short cut!" The fur-clad young lad shouted triumphantly, picking up Celes and hefting her onto another rock, sending her careening down the rest of the way. Before Edgar could blink, he, too, rode the bumpy way down. Gau himself also jumped onto a boulder.
"You okay?" Edgar asked when they finally made it to the bottom.
"I've been through worse," Celes answered a bit shakily. "What a way to go..."
**LOCKE as Locke Cole and CELES as Celes Chere**
With Terra in the lead, the group made their way across a long stretch of metal panels welded together.
As she turned to wait for the others, she saw Celes stop and bend to pick something up.
"Hurry!" she urged. "The floor's breaking up!"
Before Celes could catch up with the rest of them, however, a violent explosion somewhere broke the welding. The floor began to fall into the darkness one piece at a time.
Celes had only one thing in mind as the ground beneath her vanished. 'Locke...'
"CELES!" Locke screamed, diving towards her.
His hand caught hers just in time.
"Don't worry." Locke reached down with his other hand, grabbing Celes firmly. "I will *not* let go!"
Celes kept her eyes riveted on Locke's face as he pulled her up.
"Phew!" Edgar wiped away an imaginary sweatdrop. "That was close!"
"What were you thinking?" Locke yelled, his voice fraught with worry. "You almost ate it trying to pick up that silly trinket!"
"We'll leave you two lovebirds alone..." Setzer snickered. While Locke and Celes stood there blushing, Terra, Sezter, and Edgar continued forward.
The floor began to shake again. Not wanting to risk losing Celes a second time, Locke simply picked her up and ran across the tiles. He didn't set her down until they were both on much safer ground.
**TERRA as Terra Branford**
The group passed through the broken tubes which some recognized as the remains of the Magitek Research Factory.
Suddenly, Terra stopped before one of the tubes, and a piece of magicite floated out into it.
Terra felt a familiar aura. "Father...?"
'Terra...we Espers are disappearing from this world...but if your human side is strongly attatched to someone, you might be able to remain...'
Then Maduin, too, vanished in a spray of stone.
"Terra...?" Cyan prompted.
Terra forced herself to be strong. "I'm all right. Let's go."
Before she left, though, she took one last look at where her father had been.
**RELM as Relm Arrowny**
Relm and Strago hurried down the conveyer belt, struggling against the direction of the rollers. Suddenly, Strago tripped, falling behind.
Relm rushed back to Strago. "Granpa!" she chided, thinking that Strago had been faking. "Cut it out!"
"Sorry, dear..." Strago forced himself to his feet.
With some effort, Relm supported Strago with her small body and continued walking. "If I hear another peep out of you, I'm gonna draw your portrait!"
Strago gasped. "No! Anything but that!"
"......" Relm sighed. "But, really...I'd like to do a painting of you for once..." she smiled. "On canvas, of course!"
"Relm!" Strago groaned. "How could you be thinking about pictures at a time like this?"
**SHADOW as Shadow**
Interceptor gave a worried bark as Shadow stopped.
"Go on!" Shadow commanded the dog.
"Grwof!" Interceptor shook its head and tugged at Shadow's pant leg.
Shadow bent down and patted his beloved pet. "Stay well..."
Giving the reluctant Interceptor once last shove, Shadow ran into a secluded corner of the tower.
'Baram! I'm going to stop running...'
Everything began to collapse around Shadow, but he didn't care.
'I'm going to start all over again...'
**STRAGO as Strago Magus**
Finally, the peak where they had dropped in was in sight. To everyone's dismay, however, the hook by which they could get out was rapidly rising out of reach.
"No...NO!" Strago stamped his foot stubbornly. "A 'kid' like me doesn't know the meaning of defeat!"
Racing up the rocks, Strago reached the top. After a few false starts, he finally caught the hook with a mighty leap.
"Gotcha!" He gloated as the hook steadily lowered.
Everyone scrambled aboard the Falcon, with Terra in the lead and Strago at the rear.
"This way!" Terra shouted, leaping into the air, as Setzer took the helm.
"The last piece of magicite..." Edgar noted, as the green shard cracked and shattered.
Celes rushed to the bow of the Falcon, and sighed in relief to see that Terra was still airborne. "Terra! It's all right!"
Strago, however, saw that Terra's aura was diminishing. "Terra! Get back on board, NOW! You're powers are failing!"
Setzer, also seeing that Terra was dropping, set the Falcon to go at its highest speed. Weaving through the disintegrating remains, the Falcon broke free of Kefka's Tower towards the falling Terra.
In Moblitz, two children standing watch wondered what the shiny thing in the distance was. Before they could figure out, though, another child ran up to them.
"The baby's coming!" The boy shouted excitedly. "The baby's coming!"
Hurrying back into the house where Katarin was, the three joined the other children in their vigil around the bed.
'Do it right, Katarin!'
Everyone looked around.
"Mama?" One of the children piped up.
'I've got to hang in there...for a little while longer...' Terra thought as she fell. 'Just a little longer...'
Celes opened her eyes and struggled to her feet; around her, the other members of the group lay sprawled upon the deck of the Falcon.
"Terra?!?" Panicking, Celes' eyes darted all over the deck. Finally, just as she was beginning to lose hope, she caught a glimpse of green. "Terra!"
Celes caught Terra in a joyful hug; the rest surrounded them, sharing in the exultation of victory.
"Thank you, Setzer!" Terra said, smiling at the gambler.
Setzer puffed out his chest. "Didn't I tell you before that this was the world's fastest airship?" Going to the helm, he proved this by taking the Falcon on a tour of the world.
"Hey, look!" Relm shouted, pointing. "There's Moblitz!"
Terra rushed to the railing and saw the children--'her' children, who had rescued her from the edge of despair--running out of one of the houses and waving at her, jumping up and down excitedly. Terra waved back, hoping that they could see her, and shared in the happiness that they showed.
The house which had burnt down in Thamasa was also being restored to its former splendor. Under the command of an enthusiastic Gung-Ho, the great building rose from its ashes. Relm saluted her grandfather's hunting buddy, and he returned the gesture.
The Falcon passed over Kolinghen next, and the little girl who had been tending the seed which wouldn't sprout waved at them, pointing proudly at something beneath her feet.
"Well, what do you know? That seed grew after all..." Remarked Sabin.
Edgar noticed that Celes was watching the scenery below rather sullenly. He decided to go try to cheer her up.
"Hey, Beautiful...now that the world is safe, why don't you and I go out some time?"
Edgar, too caught up in pouring out his affections to Celes, didn't notice that his target simply rolled her eyes and left. When he returned to reality, he found himself proposing to Relm.
"You naughty boy!" Relm chided, grinning and wagging her finger. "I'm way too young for you!"
"Good going, Don Juan!" Sabin teased as Edgar turned a very interesting shade of red.
In Figaro Castle, Chocobo riding troops were once again on the march, and the Chancellor stood proudly at the top of the castle, raising his arms in a salute as the Falcon soared overhead.
In South Figaro, the man who had boasted he would rebuild 100 times if Kefka burned the town 100 times was making good his promise with the help of the other townsfolk. Brick by brick, plank by plank, and tile by tile, the scars of war disappeared.
"Way to go, Figaro!" Edgar cheered, waving at his people.
Terra felt her breath taken away as she watched the land beneath her spring to life. Now that Kefka's infectious evil was gone, the waters were a clear, bright blue again, as was the sky. Birds began to gather in places they never dared to go near before; a flock rose into the air and joined the Falcon in its triumphant flight.
'It's like we're getting a chance to start over,' Terra thought. 'The earth is giving us a clean slate...'
On impulse, Terra reached up and pulled off the band that held her hair in a ponytail. As the Falcon flew higher, she spread her arms wide apart and closed her eyes as the wind raced by. For the first time in her life, she felt truly happy and carefree.
Nobody realized that this would only be the end of the beginning.
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*sighs blissfully*
Man, I love the ending theme. Beat the game 3 times in a row just to relive the totally awesome music. (You see how utterly bored I was. ^^;) And now that I have the MIDI of it, I'll be listening to it almost nonstop.
Writing the battle against Kefka was rather tough, since I have no idea how to describe what the spells look like. (Someone once wrote that the Goner spell was "a little like getting hit with the kitchen sink...with the rest of the kitchen still attatched". Ouch. :)
Some parts of the story weren't completely faithful to the original for the sake of drama. If you can point them out, then you're as much a FF3 fanatic as I am. ^_^
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-"Dot"
http://www.fortunecity.com/westwood/italian/70
http://members.xoom.com/dotchan (mirror)
Writer of Unnecessarily Long Author's Notes and Bad Spamfics. ^^;
Bane of the FFML since 1998. ^_^
Coming soon to your local inbox: Dragon Ball stories
with -gasp- plot! ^_^
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