Title: You're Not Alone
Author: Atariel Tsukai
Date: January 21, 2015
Summary: War is breaking out in Gaia once more. It is up to Garnet, as the queen of Alexandria, and her acquaintances to figure out just who is waging the war and what they can do to put an end to it!
Rating: T
Authoress's Note: I'm back, guys! It probably wouldn't be as soon if I didn't have the amazing support of zestychicken2! If you still haven't read her story, Filling In The Blanks, you need to start reading it right now! It's so good and has been my inspiration for writing this! She also gives very nice feedback! Hopefully things are going to be rolling a little more smoothly from here on out, as I've been stuck in a bit of a rut in this chapter. Also, I have a new follower with an amazing name! Thanks, ziddag14, for subscribing! I hope you all enjoy this chapter and that it doesn't seem too forced or weird!
Disclaimer: Still don't own it. :( I really need to start playing it again, though, so ideas start flowing more easily!
.ix.
Chapter X: Learning To Fight
"Guys, Stiltzkin's flying our way!" Eiko called excitedly as she ran through the summoner's village of Madain Sari, her voice echoing off the surrounding stone walls.
All of the men besides Zidane flinched and shook their heads some. "That damn princess is gonna get us caught one of these days," Baku mumbled.
"No way. Nobody besides Steiner, the Moogles, and us know where this place is," Zidane pointed out confidently.
"Yeah, unless that Gilgamesh lad captured Sir Tin Can and tortured the queen's possible whereabouts out of him," the big man retorted coldly.
Garnet, needless to say, was not happy with the leader of Tantalus's response. She covered her mouth with both hands and tried to stop a whimper from escaping her lips. Tears had already formed and fell freely from her wide chocolate orbs. She stopped cooking the lunch she had been preparing for everyone and took off out of the open-air kitchen.
"Damnit, old man, what the hell is wrong with you?!" Zidane demanded, looking up at his boss in disbelief. He then looked around to his brothers, whom were all keeping quiet about the matter. The Genome growled angrily and ran a hand through his golden hair before running out after his wife.
"Dagger! C'mon, wait up! Baku's just being a dumbass. He thinks he has a sense of humor, but he's really just twisted," he said, reaching out and catching Garnet's hand in his own and giving her a gentle pull towards himself. The queen spun around and practically threw herself at the ex-thief who had stolen her heart. She buried her face against his chest and began to cry. He gently wrapped his arms around her and held her close, gently running his gloved fingers through her long raven hair. "Hey. . it's okay. . . " he whispered comfortingly. "We both know Steiner's a lot stronger than that. He and Beatrix won't go down without one hell of a fight."
Large chocolate orbs wandered up to meet azure eyes, tears still rolling down her soft cheeks, which Zidane quickly wiped away will the ball of his hand. "Do you really think they will be okay? And what about dear Ruby?" she asked quietly.
The blond nodded with a reassuring grin. "I'm sure they're working on some sort of escape plan to come meet up with us! Now, how about we go see what Stiltzkin is up to?" he asked softly.
The raven-haired female hesitated, but nodded slowly. She closed her slim fingers around his strong arms and nodded a bit more. "Let's go," she said, trying to be strong.
Zidane smiled and kissed Dagger's forehead. He then pulled back slightly and began to lead the way back to the kitchen. When they got back, the Tantalus sat there quietly. Even Eiko was no longer jumping around excitedly.
Stiltzkin turned to face the couple as they came into the room. "I was asked to deliver this letter to you two, though it's addressed to different people. Not really sure the names really belong to the senders either," he told them.
Garnet jumped away from Zidane and quickly took the letter from the Moogle. Her breath caught in her throat. "It's from Steiner and Beatrix! They're all right!" she exclaimed softly, a wave of relief washing over her and causing tears to form in her chocolate orbs, this time of happiness.
The Genome smiled and took a step towards the queen, peering over her shoulder as she shakily held the piece of paper out, rereading over the message it contained. He looked up and saw the others waiting impatiently to know what news there was, so he began to read it out loud:
"'Our dear Cornelia and Marcus,
We have arrived safely from our travels. Leo was not the most gracious host, but alas wee have returned from our short stay with him. Thank you so much for allowing us to stay in your beautiful home just outside of the castle. We have been able to relax and find Alexandria to be as beautiful and safe as we remember. We look forward to your return some time in the future, but please don't rush. Think of this as your honeymoon and try to enjoy yourselves.
With all of our love and support,
Schneider and Rose'"
"I'll give him one thing, Rusty sure is creative when it comes to using code names," Zidane said with a smile as he gently hugged Dagger from behind. "See? I told you they would be okay."
The queen looked around to the band of ex-thieves. "They say that Gilgamesh isn't harming the kingdom. . but. . . I can't just sit here idly while he is on my throne," she murmured. "I wish to learn to fight better, so I won't draw attention by using magic when I go to take it back." Her gaze slowly wandered to the other summoner.
"I want to fight, too! That stupid four-armed guy set Lindblum on fire! He deserves to get beat up!" Eiko exclaimed, pouting a bit.
Zidane looked around to his brothers and their boss with a wide grin. "I think we can manage to teach you. We've all learned from each other and even taught Rubes a bit," he pointed out.
"Yeah, they sure have taught her a bit. She can kick all of their asses," Baku said with a loud hoot.
Azure eyes rolled. "Yeah, well, she could probably kick your ass, too, if she weren't afraid you'd sit on her and squash her with it," he pointed out, still in a sour mood with the man who had raised him since it had been the old man's fault Garnet had gotten so upset minutes ago. He wrapped his arms around his raven-haired wife once again. "Let's go outside and train," Zidane said softly.
He then carefully led her out of the kitchen, Eiko towing Blank along as well. The blond glanced back at the redhead, wondering if the other male was physically okay to help teach the girls. Unfortunately, the preteen did not seem to take to any of the other Tantalus members as much as she did to the youngest two.
"You need a weapon. You can't just go around whacking people with your flute," Blank told Eiko, which caused the princess to pout quite a bit. "We don't have any extras, since they were all in the Prima Vista and were mostly for show anyways. I guess you can use mine, as long as Monkey Boy doesn't mind taking on both of you at once," the redhead finished, teasing Zidane with a smirk.
Azure eyes rolled at the comment. "They'll put up a better fight than you could any day, but I can handle it," he retorted with a matching smirk. His gaze then returned to the girls. Garnet had taken out her own dagger, looking down at it nervously just as she had during their quick session before facing Gilgamesh's men, and Eiko was struggling to find the right grip on Blank's short sword. "How about you show her how to hold it while me and Dagger have a go?" the blond suggested to his best friend.
The queen glanced over to Eiko and Blank for a moment, then back to Zidane. She gripped the hilt of the small weapon, her hand shaking slightly as chocolate met azure. He smiled reassuringly and a soft sigh escaped her lips. "Okay," she said quietly before running towards the blond.
He caught her dagger with ease. "Make sure you keep it close to your body so you can move it without changing your position too much," Zidane told Garnet, gently nudging her back.
The raven-haired queen eyed the blond ex-thief warily for a moment after she had stumbled back a step or two, then regained her balance. She took a step forward, keeping the dagger in close to her body. Her chocolate orbs looked for an opening. She knew that Zidane could easily catch a single blade with his twin daggers especially if it was coming at him from straight on. She had watched him do so too many times to count.
Her gaze wandered over to the purple-haired preteen and the redhead as he held her hand, gently keeping her fingers around the hilt. Eiko pulled her hand free from Blank, swinging the sword around a bit while he watched with a proud smirk.
Garnet looked back to Zidane once more. "Don't go easy on me. I want to learn," she stressed, running forward suddenly, and catching the Genome slightly off-guard. A small smile came to her lips as she knew that not many people would expect the queen to fight without her magic, so at least she could catch some of their enemies by surprise as well.
Zidane returned the smile with one of his own as he could tell what his beloved Dagger was thinking. "That was pretty good!" he exclaimed with a laugh as he jumped back to avoid the surprise attack. "It's a great idea to keep it hidden that you've learned how to fight with a dagger until the very last moment. The element of surprise always keeps an enemy distracted for a bit," he said with a slight smirk. "All right. Promise I won't go easy on you anymore." With that, the blond lunged with his twin daggers swinging towards Garnet. She quickly raised the hand that gripped her own weapon. The metals clashed, knocking the two of them back a few feet.
The Genome recovered fast and jumped at the queen once more. He swiped one blade upwards. She moved her own hands as quickly as she could, just barely managing to catch his first dagger with her own. She was able to react a little better, though, as he swung the other weapon. She grabbed his wrist with her free hand and held it shakily, the tip of the blade inches from her face.
A look of shock came across Zidane's face as he realized how close he had actually been to hitting Garnet with his second dagger. Azure eyes blinked softly and the blond dropped his hands to his sides. "I'm so sorry, Dagger," he murmured.
A small frown came to the raven-haired female's lips. "Zidane, it's okay. . I told you not to hold back. . . Are you okay?" she asked quietly.
He hesitated, then nodded slowly. "I think so. Are you?"
"Of course. I know you wouldn't ever really hurt me," she told him, gently lifting her hand from his wrist and up to his face. "I must have pushed you too hard." She carefully stroked his cheek before leaning forward and pressing her lips to his in a soft kiss.
"Maybe we should keep you two separated, since you can't keep your hands off each other," Blank spoke up from his spot next to a very eager Eiko.
"I want a turn!" the princess cheered, still tightly gripping Blank's knife.
Garnet looked from the other two, to Zidane, and back. "Eiko and I could practice with each other and you two could watch and tell us what we need to do to get better," she suggested, able to tell that the blond was still beating himself up over the way he had almost hurt her and was not ready to face the indigo-haired girl after that.
A small pout came to the younger female's lips, but quickly disappeared when she noticed a pained look on Zidane's face. "All right! I guess that will help us both learn quicker!"
Blank seemed to get an idea and suddenly started heading back inside. Before anyone could decide to follow, however, the redhead was back out with quite a bit of rope. He used it to tie both of the girls' weapons tightly into their hilts. "Don't want either of you cutting the other," he mumbled before moving back to Zidane's side, plopping down on the ground.
The other ex-thief ran a hand through his golden hair. "Why didn't I think of that? And sooner. . . " he said quietly, looking down to his own daggers for a split second before back up to Garnet and Eiko.
Terra-cotta eyes looked at the blond curiously, then back to the girls as the redhead decided to check on his best friend later. "You two have seen us all fight before. Go ahead," Blank said with a playful smirk.
Before Garnet could even blink, Eiko was gone. The preteen was still pretty fast from her time living alone as a child and having to thieve in order to survive. The slightly shorter female ran around the older. The raven-haired woman spun around and raised her covered dagger to catch the other's weapon. "Eiko!" she gasped softly, her chocolate orbs wide as they met with determined teal ones.
A modest, yet mischievous smile came to the girl's lips. "Guess I still remember how to move around quickly," she said with a soft giggle as she jumped away and waited for Dagger to make a move.
The queen stared at the princess, already breathing a little heavier than usual. She shifted a little and began to move towards the younger girl. She could not move as quickly as Eiko nor did she really want to think about the possibility of hurting the girl during their training. She was a little more comfortable with wielding a dagger, but it was still too up close and personal for her likings. If only she had her rod, she would not have to learn a whole new style of fighting.
"If you're still nervous about it, you don't have to fight with the dagger. We'll find a better way." Zidane's words tore Dagger from her thoughts, a wave of relief washing over her. She turned to face her love, who smiled at her. "We can go back to Conde Petie and see if they have any rods to buy. That way, you can fight the way you're used to and you have something to help with your concentration in case an emergency comes up," he said.
Blank wore a frown. "You sure that's a good idea? For all we know, they've found the ship we stole and are searching the town already."
"We don't all have to go. Dagger and I can go and come straight back as soon as we get her something better to fight with. It'll take three days if we're fast enough," the blond said confidently.
The redhead shook his head a bit. "I'm sure this isn't a good idea, but I know there's no stopping you," he mumbled.
The Genome grinned widely. "You know me so well. All right, Dagger, let's go tell the other guys that we're going, then we'll head out."
Garnet followed after Zidane, giving a small, apologetic smile to Blank, who just shook his head some more. Chocolate orbs then blinked a few times as the queen felt a light weight suddenly pull at her hip. She looked down to see purple hair hiding Eiko's face as she hugged her. "Promise you'll be careful and not let Monkey Boy do anything stupid."
The blond shot a glance over his shoulder at the words. "You don't think I know what I'm doing either, Eiko?" he asked with a slight pout.
The princess pursed her lips for a moment. "It's just. . you two will be way outnumbered if they are at Conde Petie or anywhere along the mountain path. . . " she pointed out worriedly.
"It'll be fine! I'm the best at sneaking out of all of Tantalus and Dagger's pretty sneaky, too," he said proudly, thinking back to the times his love had tricked even himself.
The four of them reached the shelter once more. "Does anyone need anything from Conde Petie? Dagger and I are going back to see if we can find a rod for her to fight with. I guess we'll bring back some more food, too, since all Cinna's been doing is eating it all," he joked lightheartedly.
The round ex-thief looked at the blond in disbelief. "I have not!" he exclaimed defensively.
Baku shook his head a bit at the antics of the men he had raised, who would always be boys according to him. "Yer insane, going back there, but I'm not gonna stop you. More food is always a good idea, since we don't know how long we're staying here. If you two don't come back in five days, we're all coming after you. And if I find out it's because you've got yer tongue down her throat–" the gruff man's choice of words made Garnet's face turn a bright pink while the his boys laughed at their brother's expense despite the seriousness of the situation– "and not because of something serious, then I'll personally kill you so Gilgamesh's men don't haveta."
Zidane gave a pained grin. "All right. I'll keep that in mind," he said simply. "Do you think you can send a letter back to Steiner and Beatrix? Just let them know that we're making sure everyone's ready to go back to Alexandria before we leave this continent."
"I'll write a letter, then send it back with Stiltzkin," Marcus said before adding, "Just be careful."
Feeling a little better, the Genome allowed one last playful smirk to come to his lips. "You all worry about me too much." He then turned to Garnet and held out one hand. "Shall we go, my beloved Dagger?"
.ix.
Authoress's Note: Okay! So I kind of like this chapter now that I've tweaked it a little from how I originally wrote it. Originally, Dagger went through even more back and forth about wanting to fight. She is going to fight, but it's complicated! I'm still working out the details in my mind, so we'll see how much it changes from the ideas I have now. Also, sorry for the lack of Steiner and Beatrix in this chapter! I just thought that this chapter was at a good length without seeing what they're doing, even though it's a bit shorter than the last few chapters. At least their letter was included? I really liked writing it, especially because I was extremely happy with the code names! hahaha ANYWAYS, please review!