Pursuit
Don't own Final Fantasy.
Ludicrous. Absolutely ludicrous.
The Invincible ascended the heavens, leaving the forest behind within minutes. Her gaze followed it until the airship went out of sight. They were going to be slaughtered. Kuja's power had destroyed an entire world; it would not be that difficult for him to do it again. Let alone eight fools delusional to think that they could stop him.
Zidane. She never imagined that he could be so foolhardy. And to think that he was meant to be Garland's Angel of Death. Garland had failed. She reminded herself that it was Zidane who had defeated Garland. Kuja may have finished him, but it was Zidane who battled him. Perhaps—just perhaps they did have a chance. What in the world was she thinking? One spell of Kuja's was enough to bring Zidane and all of friends to their knees. And he destroyed Terra. There was no chance whatsoever.
The Invincible was long gone. Mikoto closed her eyes. Being the third Genome that was granted a soul, she too had gifts that acceded her soulless peers, and one in particular that neither Zidane nor Kuja possessed. She was able to sense the presences of her two "brothers"—she huffed at the term—no matter where they went, even if it were another planet. It had been this gift that had allowed her to be the first to meet Zidane when he arrived on Terra. She could feel Zidane's presence moving at a fast, steady rate. But of course; he was still on the Invincible. But for some reason, Kuja was undetectable. He certainly wasn't dead—she would know it if he were. What she did feel was a massive amount of energy emanating from the northwest. It must be the Soul-Divider, she realized. The Iifa Tree. What had Kuja done to it?
The Crystal.
She started. Of course. Garland had told her once—anyone who dared to touch the Crystal would have the power to create another dimension from its memories. That would explain why she couldn't locate Kuja.
So he wasn't just planning on destroying Gaia—he was planning on destroying existence itself.
But that wasn't her concern. Her purpose was ended when Terra was no more. It made no difference to her what happened now. Did she really? Why would I care? she thought. Keep thinking like that, and you'll end up a fool like Zidane.
They were idiots for trying to contend with power like that.
"Maybe the point is just to try."
Aargh! Those words wouldn't leave her alone. What did Zidane know? You couldn't fight the inevitable. You couldn't fight fate.
But Zidane did. And so did Kuja. Garland is dead, and Terra is gone. They have already defied fate. Their ideals are polar opposites, but both of them defied their fates.
And now they were going to fight one another…
She had always followed the travels of both of her "brothers"—again with that word—as closely as she could. More often than she needed to. Why was that?
They were going to fight one another…
One of them was going to die.
This world was probably going to die.
Two Angels of Death had defied fate. What was the third going to do?
"U-um, are you alright? You've been standing there for a really long time." She started, turning to face the voice. A black mage was standing there, looking a little nervous. She knew she slightly intimidated them. Well, she was different from the rest of the Genomes, after all.
She didn't answer. She remembered what she was told shortly after arriving here in this strange village. These mages were created by Kuja to destroy. But here they are… going against that. Why was she thinking like this? That accursed Zidane Tribal!
"Listen to your big brother and make some friends"
That arrogant little… moron! She wasn't a child he had authority over. No authority…
Zidane is going to kill himself.
No… he has a chance.
It isn't possible.
It could be.
If he does succeed, Kuja will die.
Look at the atrocities Kuja committed. He would deserve it.
It doesn't matter, because Kuja is too powerful. He will kill Zidane.
Will he?
Her brothers are going to fight each other, and one of them is going to die.
"Is there any means of transportation here?"
The black mage was taken aback at actually being addressed. "Well, I-I don't know. Probably the only way to get anywhere is by foot. Too bad Zidane already left in his airship."
They were interrupted by shouting. One of Mikoto's fellow Genomes were being chased by that baby chocobo again. The scene was utterly ridiculous. One of the mages in charge of caring for the chocobo was waving a Gyshal Green in an attempt to draw it away from the hapless Genome.
"KWEEH!"
But that wasn't the baby known as Bobby Corwen. A full-sized adult chocobo zoomed into view, making a beeline for the mage with the vegetable. Said mage toppled over in surprise, and the chocobo took that opportunity to pluck the Gyshal Green from his hand and swallow it whole.
Unlike Bobby Corwen, this chocobo had lighter plumage; it looked like it was made of gold. It was almost as tall as Mikoto was. Wasn't it possible to ride chocobos?
Slowly she approached the bird. It saw her, let out an excited "Kweh!" and trotted over to her, but when it came closer, it hesitated. The chocobo-handling black mage sat up and said, "That's Choco. He must have thought you were Zidane, because you look so much like him."
"This is Zidane's bird?" she asked.
The mage nodded. "Whenever Zidane was too busy to pay Choco much attention, he'd usually send him here. Don't worry, he's really friendly. Go ahead and pat him. If he doesn't like you, he'll run away." Somewhat reluctantly, she did as he said.
"Kweh!" said Choco.
The black mage told her, "That means he likes you."
"Why are his feathers different from the younger one?"
"Choco is a really special chocobo. The gold feathers mean he can fly."
"Fly?" She was incredulous.
"It's true. Zidane rode him from here to the Mist continent once."
So you can indeed ride chocobos. And what's more, you could fly with one. Gaia was a stranger place than she'd given it credit.
The Invincible had a head start. She would be hard-pressed to catch up with it. She wasn't even sure what she would do if she did. The Invincible wasn't heading for the Iifa Tree yet; they were probably getting supplies to prepare themselves. She scrambled to mount the chocobo named Choco.
"I-I don't know if that's a good idea," said the black mage, but she paid him no heed. She urged Choco forward, yelping when he broke into a run.
Choco dashed into the forest. Mikoto was beginning to have her doubts. But all thoughts were put on hold as the chocobo made an enormous leap—landing on a low-hanging tree branch. He jumped again, getting a bit higher. Five more times he did this, until they were at the crown of the forest. Choco paused for a moment.
Oh, for the love of Terra.
He made a final leap, flapping his wings like the thrashing arms of a person who can't swim. They started going down. Mikoto screamed for the first time in her life. And then, defying all odds, they started going up.
She was flying. On a chocobo. It was much different from an airship. One slip, and down she would plummet to her death. Not that she was afraid of death. But the height made her giddy nonetheless. She checked the direction Zidane was heading, then directed Choco to follow.
It was two hours before she caught sight of the Mist Continent. Choco was tiring. She needed to have him land before they both fell. There was a forest on a grassy plateau; Choco went straight for it. Why he could only land in a forest, she had no idea. There was a bit of crashing into branches and limbs—Mikoto wondered if he always did this or if his lack of grace was due to exhaustion. They finally hit the forest floor with a bump.
Zidane was close; she could feel it. Choco obliged to get her out of the forest they landed in, which took a good fifteen minutes. When they emerged, Mikoto could see a huge castle in the distance, surrounded by a city. Zidane was there. She knew it.
She dismounted. "I can take it from here," she told Choco. Awkwardly, she added, "Thank you." She began running.
She was only a third of a mile away when she saw the Invincible moored on the grass. Almost there.
But that was when she heard gears whirring and engines starting up. She kicked up her speed, but it was too late. The Invincible took to the sky and sped off.
Now what? Her cynical side berated her for embarking on such a foolish endeavor. But she couldn't turn back—not now. Choco didn't have the strength to carry her any further. Her eyes were pulled to the city. Maybe there was another way to pursue them.
This town was different from anything she had ever seen. It was louder than Bran Bal, and even the Black Mage Village. The inhabitants were hard at work repairing damaged buildings.
Kuja did this she realized. But she could think about that later. She spoke to a passerby. "Do you happen to know if there are any airships around here?"
The man frowned. "The only one I know of would be the Red Rose, the Queen's airship."
"And where may I find the Queen?"
He laughed. "Going to ask to borrow her airship, are you? She isn't here, anyway. She's gone on a journey to help her recover from shock." He gestured to the ruined city. "General Beatrix is temporarily in charge at the castle. You'll have to go through her." He chuckled and strode off.
The castle? But of course.
****
"General Beatrix!"
Beatrix sighed at Knight of Pluto's exuberance. "Yes?"
"There's somebody asking to see you. They say it's matter of life and death for all of Gaia!"
"What?" The General's mind whirled. "Let them in."
"Yes sir! Uh, I mean, ma'am… sir—wait…"
"Don't worry about it, just go."
A cry was caught in her throat when the visitor walked in. She opened her mouth, but stopped herself just in time. It wasn't Zidane—it was a girl she had never seen before. But she looked exactly like Zidane; she even had a tail. What was the meaning of this?
"F-Forgive me for being speechless," Beatrix apologized. "You remind me of someone I know."
The girl's face had been totally expressionless, but she slightly raised her eyebrows after this statement. "You know Zidane, then," said the girl.
"Yes, I do. And you know him as well, it seems. Have…" she hesitated, "have you seen him recently, then. And his companions as well?"
"They are all alive."
"All of them? What about a young woman with black hair?"
"She is among them, yes."
"And a… a knight with… with somewhat rusted armor?"
"The woman you mentioned, that knight, a little girl, a red haired man, a rat spearswoman, a black mage, a… bluish-white creature, and Zidane. They are all alive."
Beatrix heaved a sigh of relief. They were alright. "Thank heavens."
"But they about to head into danger."
"What?"
"I do not know if you know of Kuja—"
"I do," said Beatrix.
"Kuja has obtained new power and has obliterated the planet Terra. He will most likely do the same here. Zidane and his companions plan to try to stop him. They are flying toward the Iifa Tree as we speak."
The girl froze.
"What's wrong?" asked Beatrix.
"Silver dragons," she murmured. "I don't know how I missed them before. I guess I assumed it was part of the Iifa Tree. There are… so many. I've never felt so many before…" Her eyes widened, and she spoke to Beatrix again. "They will not make it without help. Those dragons will destroy them before they get near enough. They need help. Do you have an airship?"
Beatrix nodded. "Haagen! Weimar!" Two Knights of Pluto scurried in, looking very nervous about being summoned by the General of Alexandria. "Haagen, tell my knights to ready the Red Rose. Weimar, I want you to contact Regent Cid of Lindblum immediately. Tell him to expect me as soon as possible."
The two knight saluted. "Yes sir! Ma'am! Sir!" She groaned.
"Just go!" They ran as quickly as possible. Beatrix looked back at the girl. "What did you say your name was?"
She was silent a long time before answering, "Mikoto. I'm… Zidane's sister."
****
The Red Rose wasn't quite as fast as the Invincible, but that didn't surprise Mikoto much; the Invincible was manufactured with more advanced Terran technology. But it was still faster than riding a chocobo. Before pursuing the Invincible, however, Beatrix had stopped to inform Regent Cid of the situation. Cid outdid himself not just by coming himself on the Hilda Garde III, but also bringing his entire airship fleet.
Now they were heading to the Iifa Tree with all haste. Mikoto's personal battle was still raging.
This isn't going to change anything. They are still going to fight. One of them is going to die.
If Zidane wins…
He will kill Kuja.
Zidane… has a heart. He would avoid it if he could.
Would he? Look at the grief Kuja has caused. You saw it at Alexandria.
Zidane might help him see reason.
Why do you care?
I honestly don't know. I… I don't want either of them to die.
She closed her eyes. They were almost there. The presence of the silver dragons was almost overbearing. Kuja has gone too far. I may not want him to die, but he must be stopped.
She looked out the window. There it was: the Invincible. They had just defeated a dragon. She knew their habits all too well; kill one, and the rest would swarm. Sure enough, they came by the masses. Mikoto heard Beatrix give orders for cannons. Cid's fleet was already firing.
With the dragons preoccupied, the Invincible was able to make it to the purple light hovering at the top of the Iifa Tree. And then it was gone. Zidane's presence vanished, just like Kuja's.
Cannonfire and bestial screams still filled the air. Thrice did the Red Rose heave so violently from impact that Mikoto was thrown against the wall of the cabin she occupied.
And then there was silence. Either the dragons withdrew, or they had all been defeated; Mikoto wasn't sure. But there was nothing left but to wait.
It was up to Zidane now. Battle was inevitable. She didn't want either of them to die. But something within her told her that that would not be the case.
Zidane would reemerge, or all would be destroyed. One of the two would be defeated. She closed her eyes in meditative anticipation.
It had to be done.