Family

Fandom: Final Fantasy IX

Rating: Pending, but rated M just in case

Pairing(s): Undecided as of yet; open for suggestions.

Summary: After the collapse of the Iifa Tree, what happened? How did Zidane escape? And what really became of Kuja?

—Prologue—

"Can ya b'lieve 't?" a voice called out almost cheekily as a streak of red jumped from root to root, half of the words practically being swallowed as they were spoken. "Firs' 't stops breathin' out tha fog or whaeva tha stuff even was, den 't star's all ova 'gain, 'n' now the flippin' thin's jus' 'bout caved in on isself…"

"I know wha ya mean," said a second voice, the words much better articulated, but still not perfect, as a second streak landed on a nearby root. "The whole thin's a bloody mess. Tha's all it is…"

"Well, leas' 't go' riddof the flippin' walkin' bones 'r whaeva dey were… 'n' tha flippin' walkin' trees… trees ain't s'posed ta be movin' dang't all…"

"Oh jus' quit complainin' an' le's get goin' an' see if there's still any food left befere the boss's gonna skin our tails fer takin' so long."

"I'm gittin' I'm gittin'."

With that said, the two streaks became little more than blurs of red as they dashed all along the Iifa Tree's roots. When they stopped for a few brief moments, it became clear that they were humanoid creatures, though much of their body was covered in dark red fur, in a similar fashion as genomes when they reached Trance, and they had claws instead of hands and feet, black lupine noses, as well as elongated, fur-lined ears and bushy tails. Their faces were mostly humanoid, with the exception of their eyes, as their iris filled up their entire eye, and the small tufts of whisker-like fur on their cheeks.

The pair continued dashing for several long moments, before the first voice gave a surprised yelp.

"Oy! Kamen! Lookit wha Ah found 'ere!" the voice called out. "'s A flippin' boyd lyin' 'ere!"

"A bird? There ain't no birds tha dare get close us'ally…" mumbled the second voice – called Kamen by the first – before the accompanying fox like human joined the first. When he joined his friend, he immediately saw what he was meant to see. "…Kiito, tha ain't a bird, tha's a human!"

"No 's not! Lookit the head! 's Got feathers growin' from dere!"

"An' it's also got fur only on its head, idiot! Birds got feathers all over!"

The second fox – Kiito – turned to the creature he had found. It, too, was humanoid, but it had silvery colored hair (or fur as the foxes seemed to call it), and its skin tone was almost freakishly pale. It also wore what Kiito now recognized as clothes, but they certainly did not cover as much of its body as Kiito was used to from the few humans he had seen before. The most surprising fact of the creature's whole appearance, besides the heavy injuries that covered its body, were the feathers that seemed to be coming from its hair as well.

"Okay, fine! So it ain't a boyd… whaeva, big flippin' whoop… wha we gonna do 'bout 't?"

"…is it alive is the main question, act'ally."

"…looks like. Ah can see 't breathin'. Ain't lookin' too healt'y though… So wha we gonna do?"

"…we leave it an' boss will tan our hides when he finds out… an' yanno he's definitely gonna find out."

"Yeah… Boss's scary when 'e's pissed… Ah'll carry 't 'long den."

"A'ight. Le's move out. Ain't nothin' more ta find here…"

"Righ'."

Kiito moved forward and flipped the pale, motionless form onto his back, and began to head back, Kamen following close behind. They moved slower now, though, so as not to jostle the figure Kiito carried. As they went, though, Kamen blinked in surprise as he noticed something.

"Whoa! He's got a tail!"

"'E's got a what?!"

"Ya heard me! He's got a bloody tail, look!" Kamen said as he walked forward and brought forth the long, silvery limb for Kiito to see.

"…Ah'll be damned… so wha does tha make dis guy?"

"I'm startin' ta wonder tha myself… anywho… le's take 'im-…hm?" Kamen paused what he was saying, as his ear twitched and he jumped down a few roots. "Ah! Got 'nother un ova here! This one's got a tail, too!"

"Really? Dang… ya t'ink dey're a diff'rent race altagetha or wha?"

"Possible… he's alive, though, so I'll bring 'im along too."

"A'ight!"

Kamen returned shortly after, carrying a much smaller figure on his back that seemed to be the perfect opposite of the one Kiito was carrying. Kamen's load was short, had light golden hair and a similarly colored tail, its skin was tanned and the clothes were darker in color, though equally torn and bloodied as the pale one's.

"Right! With tha outta the way, let's get-…eh?" Kamen paused once again, this time to lean up to the pale figure's face, one of his ears primed and twitching a little. "You say somethin' up there?"

"…die…"

"Say wha?"

"…l… me… ie… ple… le… m… d…"

"Dude, ya ain't makin' sense. Jus' lay still and we'll get ya outta here. Le's hurry, Kiito."

"Ah gotcha."

With those words, the pair moved away, leaving the remains of the giant Iifa Tree behind, completely unaware of what kind of load they were actually carrying.

A/N: As I've only recently beaten FF9, I need to get this out of my system so as to continue with my other stories. Anyway, a few things to keep in mind;

This story will focus on what happens to Zidane and Kuja after the Iifa Tree's collapse, but it may not necessarily be Zidane/Kuja or Kuja/Zidane. This could end up becoming a simple family story as well, but I haven't fully decided on that yet. Hell, I may even turn it into two different versions or add alternate chapters.

As for the foxes; I figured that, given that the Outer Continent is mostly wilderness, there's enough space for there to be certain "hidden" races who stay underground for their own safety. And foxes would prefer staying away from humans mostly so as not to turn into fur coats.