The path that led to Conde Petie seemed longer than ever as Zidane and Rennet walked side by side. Zidane kept glancing over at her, seeing if she caught his eye, to see if he could perhaps see in her face what it was she was thinking. But when she turned to him with a smile, he would blush, and face the path again.
Reaching the fork that led to Conde Petie and Lifa Tree, Zidane stopped, and watched his companion as she walked forward a few steps before stopping and turning to him. Her expression was puzzled, and he wanted to say something, but then something caught his eye.
Withdrawing his daggers, he swung back around him, catching a blue colored fox-like fiend in the side, splitting it in half. Its weapons dropped to the ground. Straightening slowly, Zidane turned cautiously back to her. Despite the assault, Rennet seemed at ease, as if it hadn't happened.
"It's becoming worse," she said softly. "Day by day more of them come…"
She shook her head, and Zidane sheathed his daggers before they continued. He stayed behind her, but close, watching for any signs of fiends. As they neared Conde Petie, he came to a sudden stop.
Looking up at the branch between two cliff edges, he gave a weird twist of his mouth. It was here that they had first met Eiko. The little thief had gotten herself stuck on the end of that branch as her moogle flew away at the sight of the group coming down the path. The little girl had squirmed and begged them to get her down, and when she had fallen, Zidane had caught her. He had known then that there was something strange about this little girl.
Snapping back to the present, he realized that Rennet was calling to him a little further up the path. Running to catch up, they climbed the slope and entered the market of Conde Petie, village of the dwarves.
It seemed a little busier now, and as he looked around at the people gathered at the market, he remembered how he and Garnet had gotten married here to pass through to the sanctuary. He wondered if she now considered that arrangement permanent between them. He wasn't sure if he wanted that or not.
"What's wrong?"
Zidane snapped to attention suddenly, realizing that he had once again been staring at the older woman. Blushing lightly, the youth mumbled an apology. She just stared at him hard for a moment before heading down the street.
Following and puzzled by her reaction, Zidane was surprised at the number of Black Mages he passed. He searched the faces desperately for any Genomes, and did his best to hide his identity from those here. Stopping at a stall, Zidane eased a cloak away while the disgusting, green glob of a Conde Petie citizen was busy, pulling the black hood up over his head. Rennet watched him quizzically as she waited patiently, but didn't say anything.
They had reached the inner part of the village now. After snatching them some fruit, Zidane lead the way upstairs to where he and Garnet had received the blessing. He looked at the place, a carriage set up over a gap in the stone pyramid-like village, with an alter set up higher before it. The sunlight here shown beautifully to bless the hold place, fresh vines and vegetation curling around the structures giving it a calm, natural appeal.
Seeing Rennet walk past him, he followed, and they had reached the other entrance to Conde Petie when he gave out a sigh of relief. But then he went rigid as he heard someone call him.
"Zidane?!"
Turning, he half expected to see Garnet stride over to him, hands on her hips and tears in her eyes as she began to scold him, but it wasn't her. His blue eyes widened, and he dropped the half eaten fruit in his right hand at the sight of his 'younger sister'.
Mikota was similar to him, but she was slightly shorter, and a few years younger. Her hair was the same dirty blonde shade but unlike his, it wasn't held back and down, but cropped in a similar style at the shoulders. She stopped a few feet away from him, face a mix between disbelief and seriousness.
"Zidane, is that…really you?"
"Uh, hi Mikota," he said softly. What could he say to her? How could he explain this situation?
"You're…alive?" she said, trying to keep her voice straight, and Zidane felt a smirk creep up onto his face, despite himself.
"Yeah, go figure, huh?"
"I went to Lifa Tree, and you were not there," she said softly. "I couldn't find Kuja, and I thought…" Her voice picked up a hint of anxiety, as her mind stressed over the foundation of the situation.
"We were pretty deep in," replied Zidane a little awkwardly, shifting uncomfortably. This wasn't really the place to discuss what had happened, and he knew Rennet must have felt left out. "I…." He glanced unsurely at his companion, but Rennet just stood, surveying the discussion thoughtfully.
"It has been a week and a half since you stayed there," Mikota assured him quickly. Zidane could only stare at his sister. Had it really been that long?!
"Listen, Mikota," he said softly, picking his words carefully. "I can't go back just yet…"
"And why not?" she demanded, getting angry now. Her tail twitched in a sign of irritation. Had it been any other discussion, Zidane would have found it cute.
"There are some things that I must figure out first," he replied. "It will all be too confusing if I go back now, and I will just have to leave. I don't know what will happen on this journey, so I don't want to risk getting everyone involved…"
"Then go!" snapped Mikota, brow narrowing in her fury.
"Please," Zidane whispered desperately. "Don't tell anyone that you saw me. Just tell them that you couldn't find me…"
"I don't know why I should," she snapped, turning away from him.
"Mikota, please! Do this one last thing for me!" She looked at him over her shoulder, and seemed to be studying him. Then the girl gave a deep sigh and a nod.
"Alright," she said quietly. "I won't say anything about what happened here…"
Then the girl walked off, leaving Zidane not at fault about what she had just promised him, but at what to do. Should he go? True, he didn't know exactly how he would get back, but shouldn't he at least try? They were, after all, his friends, and they had been there for him when he himself hadn't been.
"Zidane…"
He looked at the older woman, and frowned. Zidane had forgotten that she was there. Rennet had had to see that, and he wondered how she felt about it, but her face was expressionless.
"Right," he said glumly with a nod. "Let's go."
-
-
Nothing was as it seemed, and Zidane knew this. Everything could easily be twisted to sound like it was the truth when it wasn't. He sat on the path outside the village, looking to the east of him to where he knew that the Black Mage Village rested. Mikota lived there with the Black Mages, black skinned creatures developed to use magic in war. He frowned, wondering what it was he should do. To go there would mean he would have to face a part of his not-too-distant-past, and he wasn't sure that was too great of an idea at the time. If he didn't go, then he would have to face the past he did not yet know, and that could be, and probably was, worse.
"You don't know where to turn, do you?" Zidane watched Rennet as she sat down beside him, looking in the direction he had been.
"Rennet…" He looked at the hidden village as well. "No, I don't know."
"Sometimes the path is unclear," she whispered softly, and a warm breeze blew as she spoke. Zidane felt the calmness of it, and let it fill him. "When the time comes to decide…"
"I chose once," he said simply. "I chose to stay with them, instead of going. If I had left my friends, then they wouldn't have been my friends, and all of this wouldn't have happened. I sometimes wonder what it would be like if I hadn't stayed, if I hadn't decided to save her…"
"Do you ever think that it might have been better?" she asked. Zidane didn't look at her as he spoke. Instead, he toyed with a blade of grass, his elbows propped up on his knees.
"What? To never know who I really was?" He looked at her, but she didn't say anything, and instead, he directed his attention to the setting sun. "Sometimes I do wonder, but I think that it is better this way…because then I would be left with so many questions that I would never find answers to."
"So what will you do now?" Rennet prompted daringly, looking at him. "You have the choice, Zidane. It is yours alone."
"I already made it," he replied softly with a nod.
"And yet you can still make another to change that one," the girl noted, her voice strained a little. He still didn't look at her as he spoke.
"What about you? Where will you go?"
"Like I said," she whispered, also turning to the setting sun. "Back to them. I have to see them sometime, and it has been many years. I miss them, and I want them to know that I didn't leave because I didn't care…"
"That is not what I meant," he said after a moment. "I meant, would you be alright, all on your own?" She looked at him.
"I'm not alone," Rennet responded softly. "Because I have them here, with me…" She put the back of her right hand to her chest. "Here, in my heart. That is where everything really is…our memories, our love…" She looked at the orange-red sky. "I will be fine as long as I can still move."
"I don't know what to do," Zidane admitted humbly now, turning his head slightly to look at her. "To give up on my past now and find a way home would mean walking away from something that will plague my mind for the rest of my life. But walking away from my friends could mean losing them. I can imagine their anger at me is great…"
"If they are your friends," Rennet began slowly. Now looking at him, she added more surely, "Then they will forgive you, and they will understand. If they don't, then they aren't much for friends. You would be better off forgetting them if that is the case."
"Yeah…well, I don't know anymore…"
"Listen to what it is inside of you, and listen to both sides. Find the one you want more, and go for that one because that is the one that will lead you back to the other…" He looked at her in astonishment, registering this fact. At the look, Rennet smiled at him now. But then she stood, and turned to leave. As Zidane faced the sun again, he heard her whisper in his ear…
"Watch the step in which the path you walk, for you may walk in the shadow of death, bringing it all around you as you turn the corner…
"And then you will be left with a dead end…and no one but yourself…"
-
-
Zidane heard the call of birds as he rounded the cliff to where he knew the land would lead him to Fossil Roo, the mines that would lead him back to the Mist Continent. Stopping as he was almost out of sight of Conde Petie, he saw Rennet distantly standing there on the right branch of the village entrance, watching him go.
He was taken aback to see that she appeared sad at his departure. Garnet suddenly flashed into his mind, and he saw the teary face that had made him all the more sure that what he was doing was right.
But as he watched Rennet, he didn't feel that way. He felt the urge to rush back up to her, and tell her he was sorry, and that of course he would come with her. Zidane also knew that he couldn't.
He had begun to walk again when he heard it. Stopping, he swung his head to look at her, and the song of memories filled him. A strong wind blew as he took a step forward, but he suddenly stopped. Was she…glowing?
It was true. There was a bright white light swaying around the woman. Running as fast as he could, and faster than ever before, he ran along the cliff, and around it, and up the slope where he knew Conde Petie and Rennet were waiting.
As both came into sight, he came to a skidded halt. That glowing white light surrounding the young woman, seemed to be emanating from Rennet herself, in a circular design that rotated around and within her. It was moving swiftly, and as it ran over her face, blocking it for a mere moment, he caught the faintest of smiles. As it looped away, he saw her eyes were closed in deep concentration.
There was a whistling sound as a light shot up out of her to the sky, beyond his sight, and then a moment later came crashing down to the ground just a few feet away, making him jump back with a jolt.
The light had become a strange being. It was like a fiend, but seemed more threatening than any he'd seen so far. It looked like a version of a dragon, but was red with many jutting out parts, and long horns and nose. It was larger, and much more faster than Garnet's Bahaumat was.
"Y-You're a…" Zidane could not even say it, let alone believe it.
"A summoner," Rennet finished for him with a nod. "Yes."
"But, you didn't have the horn," he whispered in awe.
"That is because they had to remove it to help keep me safe," she added. "But it is strange, because I can still understand them…"
"Why didn't you tell me…"
"Because I didn't know," she admitted, looking away a little shamefully. The strange Bahaumat had begun to fly in the air above them, and the light was gone. Rennet was back to the way she had been before. "I lived in the village, yes…but my family was an adoptive family, you see…"
"Oh," Zidane noted slowly, attempting to register this. "So…"
"Without the horn, we all assumed I wasn't a summoner," she said, looking away. "I never showed any signs of summoning, and I never did summoner strange creatures, but when I saw you walking away, I wanted to give you wings so that you may have the choice of flying to wherever it was you wanted to go. I wanted you to have no limits…"
"Rennet…"
Striding over slowly, stepping carefully, the once thief stood there in front of her for a moment before taking her in his arms. She just stood there, her hands drawn up to her chin tightly as he spoke.
"I can't tell you how much you have helped me," he continued softly. "And I am eternally grateful, but everything that I do, must be done by me, and on my own two feet. Cause then I cannot honestly say that I found the truth…"
"I know," she whispered softly. "I only wanted to help…"
"And you have," Zidane reassured her with a chuckle. "I wish there was some way that I could help you in return…" Then his eyes widened and his head went tilting back a little as he realized something. He pulled her away at arms length. "Wait, where is this place?"
"It is on the Mist Continent," she replied. "I knew that it was where you were heading, but I don't know how long I will stay there, and you seem sure that you will stay with your friends, so…"
"Hey," he said softly, his eyes gathering a warm light to them. "Here, we'll go together, and we'll go where you have to go first. My friends can wait while I help you. It is like you said, if they do not forgive me than I should forget them cause they aren't my real friends then, are they?" Though he didn't really believe this, the man's urge to see where Rennet was heading was a deep one. In a way, it might lead him to his own interests.
"Zidane…thank you…"
-
-
After running through the paths of Fossil Roo, they opened up to the entrance within the marsh. Zidane led the way through the tall grass, and they opened up to the world. The mist was heavy, and clouded far off sights.
"There are fiends everywhere," he said hesitantly. "Watch out…"
"I can fight some," she proclaimed indignantly, giving him a warning look.
Zidane quirked an eyebrow at her, and leapt back a little as she withdrew a pair of short swords. The blades gleamed a tranquil color as she turned and swung them out in front of her, one blade on each side of Zidane's head, a mere inch from going through it.
"Uh…"
She straightened, and put them back into the sheaths that were hidden in the back of her. She smiled at him craftily, and after a moment, Zidane returned it. Rennet's loving, melodic laugh filled the air around him, and Zidane found his own awkward laughter right along side it.
""So where from here?" he asked. He pointed to the north of them. "That there is the direction of Lindblum I think…"
She gave a deep sigh, and looked around her. She had her back to him, and he wasn't sure if she was trying to hide her face, or if she was merely thinking. He twisted his mouth a little.
"Rennet?"
"Zidane…I talked to some people, and they said…" She was breaking down now as sobs racked her body. "They told me that many places here were destroyed, including one of my more beloved homes…"
"Where?"
"It was in Lindblum," she answered slowly.
"Y-You lived in Lindblum?" he said incredulously.
"Yeah," she said with a nod. "That was where the main defense was, what with the airships and the navy. It was the best place that we could think of. Regent Cid looked over me, so I spent most of the time within the castle…" Zidane couldn't understand how he had missed her then. Had she been somewhere else at the time? But all the man could think of was the he could have protected her before, could have helped her. And yet, now…
"Rennet…"
-
-
As they entered through the dragon gate, and took the trolley to the city, Zidane didn't say anything, nor did he met his companion's grim eyes. Rennet had been right there in the same place as him, and he hadn't known it.
He thought back to his crew. Zidane had been a part of the Tantalus thieves/ actors. Their job to kidnap the princess of Alexandria had led to all this, and now he found himself returning to Lindblum. He would perhaps meet up with his friends after all…
"Rennet, I can't do this," he whispered as they pulled up to the station. She looked at him, and he looked back at her after a moment. "I can't face them all just yet. Please, can we go back…"
"Zidane…" She seemed unsure at first, but then she smiled uneasily. "Of course, if that is what you want…"
"I'm sorry," he said hurriedly. "I just need a little while. If you wish to still go, then I'll wait here for you…"
"No," she said with a shake of her head. "I want us to face them together. Come on, we'll spend a night at the inn, and set out in the morning, okay?"
He nodded, and stepped out. Holding his hand out to her, he helped her out as well. She smiled at him, and they walked up the steps to the main street. Here people bustled around, still trying to reconstruct their recently fallen kingdom. No one paid them any mind.
-
-
Zidane lay awake that night on one of the beds in the inn, Rennet sleeping in the one beside him. He glanced over at her, hands behind his head and right leg up; tail twitching over the side. She was so peaceful when she slept.
He was thinking about waking her, but then his mind drifted back to the time when he spent the night here. It was when he and the others had first gotten to the kingdom on an airship from a little village in Alexandrian territory. He and the little black mage, Vivi, had spent the night together, and he felt a jolt of pain run through him. That little Black Mage had a life span that he knew was going to end soon.
But what was Zidane to do? If he returned then, then it would all be for nothing. He knew that it was going to be a painful reunion, but for some reason it wasn't himself that he was worried about, but Rennet.
He looked over at her; unsure of the sound he was hearing. Sitting up, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, leaning a little forward. His expression changed from surprise to grim as he realized the sound was of her crying. Standing up, he took the few steps to her bad, and looked down at the bitter woman for a moment before lying down carefully on the bed behind her, curling his body alongside hers as it became tense.
"Shh," he cooed softly, brushing back her silk hair away from her face as he spoke softly. "Don't worry, everything will be alright. So just don't worry, and sleep tight. Trust me, Rennet. Everything will be alright, as long as you let it be."
"Zidane," she said weakly. Her body had relaxed some. "Why does everything have to be like this? So hard…I can't stand it anymore…"
"I know," he replied softly, feeling tears come to his eyes. "But Rennet, you're strong, and you must remain that way…"
"I know," she whispered softly, and her body relaxed.
Zidane, unsure of what had happened, raised his head to peer at her, and smiled as he saw that she was already asleep. Shaking his head slowly for a moment, he lowered it, and closed his eyes, a warm smile on his face.
-
-
It was early afternoon, and Zidane sat on the edge of his bed in his old hideout, right leg up, and elbow resting on it. He gazed around the home. It was one-roomed, and crowded. He and his Tantalus brothers slept on one platform with beds crowded next to each other. Around the room were various chests and trinkets. Their home was in a clock tower, so he smiled as it rang out twelve times.
No one was there, which he was grateful for. They were all out, probably robbing some lord who wouldn't see it coming. He chuckled dryly at this, remembering when he was still part of the crew. He had left to save the princess, and he was refused admission because he couldn't keep her.
Zidane supposed that at that moment it didn't matter. After all, he wasn't planning to meet up with anyone soon, so it was pointless. But he knew that he had to be careful or another incident like that with his sister was bound to happen, and soon.
Pushing himself up off the bed, he stretched, and slid down the ladder to land firmly on the wooden floor. Turning to leave, he stopped and turned to look at the room once again. He frowned, and walked out of there.
-
-
Sitting on the roof of the bell tower in the Theater District, Zidane felt like he was floating. Everything was so peaceful and calm that he just wanted to sit there as his worries and doubts floated away from him.
But then he heard it…
The song. Someone was singing that song from the summoner village, and he knew that it wasn't coming from Rennet, since it did not have the accent with it. Hesitating for a moment, Zidane leapt down from the roof, and walked down the street to the trolley that would take him back to the Business District. Stepping out of the trolley as he arrived, the whirring of the engine coming to a steady silence, Zidane then realized that the song was coming from the castle. Hesitating, crossing one arm over the other, he tried to think, his tail twitching. Shaking his head, he stepped back into the trolley and took it to the castle.
As he arrived, he tried to act as if he were a worker, keeping in the crowds. Getting to the left, he took it up to the top floor. Looking around him hesitantly, he pulled the hood up over his face. The guard at the post had hurried away to help move something from a small, wooden merchant airship, so he didn't have to go through the trouble he did the first time.
Walking down the corridor, Zidane then knew where the song was coming from. Moving to the right, he entered the base of a tower, and climbed the spiraling staircase to the top, and out into the open air.
As he walked up another set of white, marble stairs, the youth stopped halfway up. There she was. Like the last time, she was in the far corner behind some white, stone pillars, doves around her as she sang, but this time it seemed sadder, and he knew that she was singing for him. She was singing, hoping he would hear and come running back to her.
And Zidane wanted to, but he knew that he couldn't. Garnet was better off not knowing that he was in Lindblum, or anywhere near her at all. She then suddenly broke down, her hands on the brim of the stone wall as she slid down to her knees. His eyes softened, and he pulled himself back as he caught himself starting to run to her.
"Garnet…"
The hurt to watch her was unbearable for him. He had left her and all the others without any real hope of his return. What was he to do now? He couldn't stand to see her like this, but what choice did he have?
Looking back once regretfully at the pathetic, fallen princess, Zidane felt a great tug at his heart as he walked away from that pain, her pain…
-
-
Zidane found himself watching his feet hobble along down the cobblestone street as he neared the entrance of the Business District. Rennet was standing to one side, waiting for him, leaning against the wall of inn, her hands behind her back, and her legs crossed in front of her. There were two small packs at her feet. The woman's face went a little grim as she saw his expression.
"Zidane, are you all right?" she asked, her accent flourishing. He tried to smile, but it faltered, and concern filled her eyes.
"Don't worry so much," he said, trying to keep his voice light, throat tightening with the effort. "I'm fine."
"Zidane…" They stood there for an awkward moment.
"Is that the supplies?" he asked, pointing to them. Rennet looked down for a moment, and then back at the once thief.
"Yeah," she said with a nod. And then her face lit up. "I have something for you…
"What is it?" asked Zidane curiously, mind still drifting back to Garnet.
"He he." Grinning broadly, tilting her head to the side as she shut him out. She had faced him, but her hands were still behind her back. "I thought that you might appreciate it…" She brought her hands out from behind her back, and in them was a tied pouch. Taking the tiny thing, Zidane began to undo the knot. "It isn't much…it was just an idea…I mean, you don't have to—"
"Wow," said Zidane, surprised at the gift.
The purple cloth had pulled away to reveal a new pair of daggers, and a gold and white case in the shape of the Sand Ruby with a clip to hook it to his belt securely. He looked at her in awe.
"I thought it might be useful," she said a little sheepishly. "I know it isn't much…"
"This is awesome," he said, surveying the gifts carefully. "They are so beautiful…I can't believe that you did this…"
"It was nothing," she said, blushing slightly, shifting a bit. "Just some things I saw while I was gathering supplies, that's all…"
"Really?" said Zidane, holding up the case to take a better look at it.
"Well, except that. That one I had made. I figured that then you wouldn't have to carry them in your shirt. You can put the Falcon Claw around your neck, the Sand Ruby at your waist, and the Memory Earring, well, on your ear." He looked at her in surprise. "What?"
"You named them…"
"Yeah," she said with a small smile. "You know their names too, don't you?"
"Not the earring and the ruby," he said.
"Well, that's the thing," she said simply, nodding. "They were each given a name, and when you travel around, you learn these sort of things." He smiled at her, giving a small chuckle.
Withdrawing his old daggers, he handed them to Rennet who put them into one of the sacks. Sheathing his new ones, Zidane then took out the three crystal pieces. Clipping the earring to his left ear, he pulled the Falcon Claw over his head, letting it dangle down to his belly button. He then took the case in one hand, and the Sand Ruby in the other, and easily fitted it into the case. It lay there perfectly, and the clasps that came over kept it secure. Hooking it to his belt, he held his hands out wide to Rennet.
"What do you think?" he asked simply, beaming; thoughts of Garnet gone.
"Well," she said somewhat slowly, taking him in. "Maybe you should do something about your appearance…"
"What?" He dropped his arms in defeat.
"No, you look fine," she said hurriedly, blushing. "People may recognize you, that's all. And if you're trying to get away from them…"
"What do you suggest then?"
"Umm, maybe cut your hair," she said, nodding at it. "And maybe new clothing…"
"Ah, man," he said, dropping his head. "I kinda liked my hair." He straightened. "Wait, what about my tail? Kinda hard to hide, isn't it?"
Zidane gave off a laugh, knowing she was right. Withdrawing one of his new daggers, he pulled loose his dirty blonde hair from the loose ponytail, and gathering it all in his left hand, he closed his eyes, and cut it cleanly. When he dropped his hands with the dagger in one, and his hair in the other, and turned to Rennet, his hair was chopped to about halfway down his neck.
She smiled, and he smiled back, and the memory of when Garnet cut her own hair returned to him. She had asked to borrow his dagger, and after she cut it, she wasn't the same person. He knew he was going to change as well.
-
Themed Song: "Iris" by the GooGoo Dolls
