Zidane's Quest of Past Pleasures
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy 9 belongs to Square Enix.
-0-0-
"I don't remember there being so much corn planted around here...are you guys sure we're going the right way?" Zidane asked, momentarily over his last nights mood.
"Yeah, we're headed in the right direction. You're right about the corn though, it's sort of...unusual." Marcus commented, glancing at the farm ground they were traveling along.
"Good place for monsters to hide." Cinna remarked, everyone giving him a dirty look.
"Not funny, Cinna. It's farm ground, people are irrigating it all the time, there's hardly any reason monsters would linger round here." Blank reasoned, trying not to get shifty eyed as they passed along the tall, green stocks of corn.
"They'd linger cause it'd be easy pickings." Cinna annoyingly argued, "One quick swipe and BOOM!" Everyone jumped at his loud sound effects, "Monster sandwich." He finished his assessment, receiving punches from everyone in the group.
"What'd I do?!" He whined, rubbing his sore spots where they'd all hit him, thick skulled and not realizing his words had unsettled the group.
"Just shut your trap for the rest of the day." Blank mumbled, Zidane and Marcus now eyeing the corn field wearily as well.
Shuffling, then movement was noticed amongst the stocks, everyone stopping in their tracks and wielding their weapons, ready for an attack. To their surprise and relief, out of the corn emerged a child. The kid was a little girl, wearing a simple pink dress. Everything seemed normal enough about her, all except the rusted, aged sickle. Figuring the child was from the farming community, the tool was assumed to be just that, a tool. What they hadn't expected, was what she intended to use it for.
The girl pounced, slicing at the nearest man, meaning Marcus. The bandana wearing thief dodged, yelling as the girl adjusted her attack, swinging wildly at the second closest person, Cinna.
Cinna, not always the most sane member, thought it best to swing his hammer at her, fighting back against the young child. His heavy hammer hit her wrist, making her drop the sickle and causing her to burst into tears.
"Cinna?!" Zidane and Blank yelled, moving over to the girl as she held her swelling wrist.
"She's nuts!" Marcus shook his head, standing back as the red head and Zidane attempted to help her. The girl hissed at them, backing away until the corn swallowed her up, disappearing into the field.
"The Hell was that all about?" Zidane looked around at all his buddies, finding that they too had no clue as to why the girl attacked, then retreated.
"Maybe after we find that chocobo ranch, we should check on the village of Dali, make sure things are...normal." Marcus proposed, the others silently nodding in agreement.
"Still think we're going the right way?" Zidane asked again, finding this path now a bit...unusual.
"Maybe...maybe it was the other direction. Blank?" Marcus questioned, staring at the red head.
"Yeah, I'm with ya on that. It's probably the other way. Lets get going." He was the first to turn around, the others following by example. Whatever laid beyond this field could wait, they had important tasks to attend to.
-0-0-
The ranch had been located in a wooded area, the yellow birds preferring that terrain. A barn was built inside a small clearing within the trees, along with a humble looking farm house. None of it was familiar to Zidane, but the others had no trouble recognizing the location.
They found a large, fat man bent over, examining a tied up chocobo's foot, the group calming walking over and hailing the fellow.
"Hey, we were wondering if the old man who raised chocobos is still here, along with his daughter." Blank began, they all watched as the heavy man spat tobacco on the ground, still preoccupied with the yellow birds foot.
"Depends who's askin'." The gravely voice commented, letting go of his hold on the bird and turning around to look at the Tantalus crew.
The large mans face was sparsely whiskered, with a greasy complexion. His shirt was filthy with dirt and mysterious stains, his pants were ripped and torn in places, chocobo poop on the hem on his trousers. His teeth were crooked with moss seeming to grow on them, quite a grungy character. The Tantalus crew were not the cleanliness group, but their hygiene was ten times more efficient than this chubby rancher.
"Well, we once spent the night here a few years back, and just had a few questions for them." Zidane spoke up, his immature companions unable to speak, finding the rancher's physical appearance humorous.
"Well, Pa's up in the house, resting. He ain't got no daughter though, I'm his only son." The rancher commented, the others looking curiously at the guy, wondering if maybe after their visit his daughter had been disowned...
"Well, can we talk to him and confirm that?" Zidane asked, watching as the heavy fellow shrugged.
"Sure, come on in." The large man walked past them, leading the group towards the old farm house.
As the guys followed the plump oakie over to the porch, a rocking chair was moving slowing, an old man lounging in it. He was bald, had large brown moles hanging off his aged body, and his face appeared only capable of frowning. The fat rancher stopped, as if surprised to see the elderly coot outside the home, before addressing the wrinkled geezer.
"Pa, you remember these folks?" The son asked, stepping aside so that the man could peer at the guests better.
"Never seen em before." The old man humphed, still frowning at the group of four.
"Excuse me, but we once stayed here a few years ago. Our friend was a bit obscene with your daughter?" Blank tried getting the fellow to remember, Zidane feeling out of sorts as his smart ass friend identified that it was him that fooled around with the ranchers little girl.
"Ain't got no daughter." He argued with them, "Just got me a son, Patrick."
"See? Now you all best get going, Pa's not much for company." The overly stuffed young man gestured for them to take their leave.
"Wait a minute! This is the only chocobo ranch around these parts, you have to be the right rancher. What happened to your daughter?" Blank argued, holding his ground when the others were ready to leave.
"Pat...Hey Bro, wasn't that chicks name Patricia?" Marcus commented, making the elderly man stand from his creaking rocking chair to point an accusing finger at Zidane.
"No daughter of mine shamed me, that's why I've got me a son. Sons can be whatever they like, they're men. They can't be tarnished like sweet innocent girls." He was shaking as he stood, his body weak and unstable.
"Pa, sit down fore ya fall over again." The son warned, moving to physically pull the aged guy down to his seat.
"You fella's better take off, Pa's got a heart condition an makin' him mad don't help it none." The large son urged, Zidane went over and patted the guy on the shoulder, feeling for the dude who had to take care of his dad who was like a helpless child.
The fat mans eyes widened at the physical touch, halting his attempt to control his fathers movements to sucker punch the unsuspecting blonde.
Zidane fell off the porch with a thud, dust flying where his body fell, the guys looking wide eyed at the downed buddy.
"I told ya all to beat it! Now take that filthy monkey boy and get the Hell out!" The irate plump male shouted, the group of friends dragging away Zidane's confused, dizzy body to a safer location.
-0-0-
When Zidane was more focused and aware of his surroundings, the friends were discussing what had just happened. The "sons" name was Patrick, the girl had been called Patricia. Patrick had decked Zidane for laying a friendly hand on him, had been irate for them to leave...
"We need someone down there to listen in, to see what they're discussing, something isn't right with all this." Blank commented, his pals nodding in agreement.
"Do you think that thing was actually...her, Bro?" Marcus asked what everyone other than Zidane was thinking.
"We're gonna find out. Who's up for some spying?" Blank looked around him, everyone nodding except for Zidane.
"What if we just leave it alone, huh? If that dude really was a chick once, a chick I screwed...guys, I really don't want to tell Garnet about this!" He complained, the others rolling their eyes at his wimpy attitude.
"Hey, you wanna know if she popped out a kid before all that change, don't ya?" Cinna made his point, the blonde hanging his head in defeat, moping.
"Alright, we'll head in when it's night, see if we can hear any dinner time talk, then when they're sleeping, we check that fat bastard and see if he's a real dude. Zidane, that'll be your job, you're the one who really needs all these answers anyway." Blank watched as the blonde kicked a rock, mumbling curses as he unhappily accepted the task.
Was Zidane going to find a mans body part, or would he go blind seeing the fat imposters hairy, meaty clam? Either way, Garnet wasn't getting told the whole story on this adventure, all she needed were facts about bastard kids, nothing more.
-0-0-