Disclaimer- I don't own the Final Fantasy characters in this story. I also don't own Berserk. I just thought I should add that for safety since there's a reference.
Author's note- Sorry this took so long to write. I've had writer's block and Rashnefein, my beta reader, has been weighed down with exams. We'll try to get these chapters to you faster in the future.
Chapter 10: Boss Fight! Black Waltz 2.
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Eggs emerged from the round machine. They looked like Frankenstein eggs, made from multiple sheets of what looked like fabric shells, stitched together from thick, ugly string. They moved down the conveyor belt leading deeper into the underground factory.
Zidane, Dagger, Vivi and I just walked alongside the eggs as they rode down the conveyor belt.
"Anyone else feel something really ominous?" I asked. It was already obvious to me what was going to happen, but the tension in the air was palpable. Everyone silently nodded in response.
The eggs continued down the conveyor belt and disappeared into the next room. We walked down the hallway and passed into a tunnel running alongside the eggs' path.
"Hold on." Zidane called out. He stopped and stared at a section of the wall in the tunnel. I turned back and saw him staring through a window looking in at the eggs on the other side of the wall.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I can almost see inside…but I can't see anything." Zidane answered. He wiped away some of the dirt on the window. "I just hear some noise."
"Like what?" Dagger asked.
"Cracking." Zidane said. He squinted as he looked through the dirty window. "Are the eggs…hatching?"
Zidane stepped back from the window and gestured to keep walking down the hallway. Dagger, Vivi and I glanced at each other for a moment, then turned around and continued our exploration. The tunnel spanned for another few feet. It exited into a big room. Boxes the size of coffins filled the room. The line from the conveyor belt continued to a small dome on the farther side of the room. High on the left side of the room…
"Ahhh! What is this!?"
…Black Mages, all about twice the size of Vivi, were carried on meat hooks to the dome across the room, where they were shoved into the coffin-sized boxes. The Black Mages rode on motionlessly, down the assembly line.
"They're…" Zidane started. He looked from one Black Mage to the next. "Some parts are different, but…" He glanced from the Black Mages, to a shivering Vivi.
"Wh-What is this…?" Vivi managed to say. "Are they…dolls?"
The noise coming from the machines and vents in the room prevented me from hearing anyone coming up from behind us. It didn't stop Zidane though.
"Guys! Someone's coming!" he said. I turned and looked for whoever Zidane saw. Maybe it was the guys who jumped me. Sure, in the game it was just a factory worker, but in the game, no one was abducted by a pair of old men, tied to a post, and had a needle driven into their spines.
I pressed myself against a nearby wall and peeked around the corner leading to the previous room really fast. I saw a man wearing mostly blue and white walking towards me. Damn, just a worker. I turned back and saw that Zidane and the others were nowhere in sight.
I was all alone.
"Thanks for waiting guys." I muttered to no one in particular. I heard the worker's footsteps behind me and remembered my predicament. Without any better options, I dashed to the side and leapt behind a set of boxes just as the worker came into view.
"Hey! Did you say something?" he asked another person working deeper in the room.
"Nope. Not me." came the response.
I could see everything from my hiding place. The first worker looked around suspiciously, looking for whatever made whatever noise he heard. He shook his head after he found nothing, then turned his attention back to the other worker.
"Okay. Never mind." he said. "It's almost time. Hurry it up, will ya?"
"I hear ya!" the worker from deeper in the factory called back. The first worker walked back, leaving the room and giving me a chance to sneak out to get Zidane and the others out of their hiding spot before they were captured. I quietly walked
There was a few seconds pause as nothing happened, but then, those coffin sized boxes were picked up, one by one, by a crane in the room. They were raised over the domed room where Zidane. Dagger and Vivi were hiding. The first box fell, imprisoning one of the Black Mages ready for storage.
Or it was supposed to.
There was an audible gasp as one of the boxes fell. I heard Dagger call out Zidane's name as the box that fell moved along a conveyor belt to the storage barrel. There was another gasp as Vivi was trapped in a box of his own. Dagger let out a minute scream as a third box fell. All three boxes containing my friends rode along the conveyor belt and into the barrel waiting to take them to Alexandria Castle. The top of the barrel was nailed shut and the workers pulled the barrel onto its side so it could roll easier. The barrel was hooked it up to a wagon like thing, pulled by a chocobo, and was led out of the underground factory.
I knew that if I didn't act fast, they were going to be loaded onto the cargo ship and sent away into unspeakable danger at the castle.
Namely, Kuja.
If he got his hands on Dagger, he could extract the eidolons from her much earlier than he was supposed to. If that happened, there wouldn't be anyone who could oppose him. Zidane and Vivi would be in jail, and without Zidane the rest of the party couldn't be formed, and Kuja would end up destroying all of existence when he shattered the Crystal.
What the hell am I doing? I thought. I have to help them!
I jumped out form behind the boxes and climbed to the top of a tall crate to get a better view of the room. Looking out over everything, I saw that it was mostly empty. It was odd, because I always thought there would be at least a dozen people working down here. But, the fewer the people, the less the trouble I had to deal with.
I took a moment to analyze my situation. There were only two workers in the room with me, and they were busy relaxing. The barrel holding Zidane, Dagger and Vivi was now outside, getting ready to be loaded onto the cargo ship. Steiner could be anywhere at this point, so relying on him was foolish. My best bet was to run out and fend off anyone near the barrel, then work on getting the others out.
I carefully climbed down from the crate I was standing on and crept around the domed room. The workers who were resting were sitting in the middle of the room, talking. Since I was pressed against the wall, there was no way they would have seen me. I made my way out of the room. I was far more attentive than I was when I first entered the underground factory. There was no way someone was going to jump me this time. But, as always, fate had a way of messing with me.
I was just at the mouth of the opening to the landing pad, when a worker came running right into me. He knocked me back a foot, then pressed himself against the wall out of fear.
I unsheathed my sword and pressed it against the worker's throat, while grabbing onto the collar of his shirt. I had no intention of killing him, but if I didn't scare the hell out of him, he might tell some of the other people about me, and I already had enough problems at the moment.
"W-w-who are you?" the worker managed to say. I responded with the first thing that came to mind.
"I am the Hand of God, hovering above! Boogity, boogity, boo!" I yelled in a gravely voice right in his face. The line came from the outtakes of the Berserk anime a friend of mine showed me once. It was absurd, but the worker was so frightened that it didn't matter what I said. I let go of his shirt and he took of running into the factory. I took the chance I was given and ducked outside.
Outside, I saw what had frightened the factory worker so much. The barrel that held my comrades captive was sitting straight up and a heavily armored knight was busy inspecting it.
Steiner.
"This barrel…" he said as he examined the barrel. "What could be inside!? What could they possibly be shipping out from this village?" Steiner jumped back when the barrel rocked back and forth for a moment. "What the-"
I sighed in relief. Good. I thought with a smile. They're still safe.
"Did I just see that barrel move?" Steiner said with a raised eyebrow. "Let's see…"
My smile vanished as I saw Steiner unsheathe his sword from his back. I dashed out of the underground hatch and ran as fast as I could to stop him, pulling my sword out of its sheath as I ran. Steiner lined up his attack on the barrel, ready to strike.
"Wait! Stop!" I yelled at the knight with the horrible idea.
"Huh?" Steiner said as he looked over at me. And thrust his sword at the barrel.
It was only by the slimmest chance that I caught his sword with my own before it hit the barrel. I stopped for a moment while I caught my breath.
"Are you insane?" I yelled at the rusty knight.
"What?" Steiner asked dumbly. "What are you talking about?"
"The others are in the barrel you idiot!" I yelled. It probably wasn't right to yell at him since there was no way he could have known about it. But dammit! He nearly skewered my friends!
"Th-the princess!?" Steiner said.
"Alright, give it another push!" came a voice from the barrel. I looked over my shoulder and saw it wobbled towards me.
"Aaargh! The barrel spoke!" Steiner blurted out. He stepped back as the barrel tipped forward…
Right towards me.
"Why me?" I muttered.
The guys in the barrel gave another hard push and the barrel tipped forward. I jumped out of the way as fast as I could and just barely avoided being crushed underneath it. Despite how fast I managed to move, the barrel clipped my leg as I dove. I gave a short cry of pain as I was sent tumbling painfully across the ground from the hit.
The barrel rested on its side, completely still. Steiner, out of his concern for the princess, ripped the top off of the barrel and pulled out one of the boxes.
"Princess?" Steiner asked as he tore the box open. Inside was a relieved looking Zidane.
"Thanks Rusty." he said.
Steiner threw Zidane, still in his box, aside as he pulled out another box.
"Princess?" he asked again. He tore open another box to reveal everyone's favorite Black Mage.
"Um…no." Vivi said in his usual quiet tone.
"I'm glad to see that you are safe Master Vivi." Steiner said respectfully. He helped Vivi out of his box, the pushed the box out of the way to make room for the next one.
"No, that's okay." Zidane said angrily. "I'm fine."
"What about me?" I called out. "I could've been killed!"
"Sorry Trevor, but we couldn't really see where we were pushing." Zidane explained with crossed arms.
"Meh. Don't worry about it." I told him.
I walked around to get a better view of what was going on with the barrel. There were two more boxes left in the barrel. Steiner pulled one of them out and tore its top off.
Inside was a human skeleton.
"NOOOO!!!! PRINCESS!!!!" Steiner cried out in horror. He gently cradled the skull. "What have they done to you!?" he cried.
"Steiner?" came a feminine voice from the barrel. "I'm in here."
Steiner glanced to the barrel suddenly, then threw the skull and the box with the skeleton to the side.
"Way to respect the dead Steiner." I chastised. He didn't hear me and pulled out the last box from the barrel.
"It's just a prop." Zidane said. I looked back and saw him crouched next to the box with the skeleton. He reached in and, holding only the skeleton's left hand, pulled out the entire arm.
"Real skeletons aren't connected with wire." he explained.
"Why would they put something like that in a barrel to be sent to the castle?" I wondered out loud.
"Princess!" exclaimed an overjoyed sounding Steiner. Dagger sat up in her box and brushed her hair behind her head.
"Thank you Steiner." she said as she stepped out of the box.
"Princess, what in the world is going on!?" Steiner yelled in his usual yelling tone. The same yelling tone that should've ruptured his vocal cords by now. He turned to Zidane and shook his hand at him in rage. "You scoundrel! Is this your doing!?"
"Steiner, please!" Dagger demanded. Steiner stopped shaking his hand and put it down on its side.
"Yes, Your Highness…" he said obediently.
Dagger turned to Zidane and spoke. "Zidane, I don't know what to say to Vivi. I never knew anything suspicious was going on at the castle…"
"We still don't know for sure." Zidane told her. "Let's stay by Vivi's side."
"You hear that Vivi?" I said, clasping the Black Mage's shoulder. "You're stuck with us." I gave him the biggest smile I could manage.
"Th-thanks." Vivi said nervously. He continued to look straight at the ground, but I knew that deep down inside, he was happy to have us with him.
"Yo, Rusty," Zidane called out. "Do you know where this airship's going?"
"…L-Lindblum." Steiner said after a moment. "Yes, to Lindblum." There was clearly some level of a lie in his voice. The way Steiner was trying to avoid eye contact with everyone was another sign he was telling a lie.
"That's convenient!" Zidane said. "Did you ask someone?"
"Th-The old man in the shack told me!" he responded nervously. "So it must be true!"
"You're acting strange…"
Something caught the corner of my eye. There was a black dot in the distance rushing towards us in the distance at an incredible speed. There was a pang of dread in the back of my mind as I knew what was headed for us. I looked back and saw Steiner looking at it too.
"Something is headed this way!" the rusty knight pointed out before I had the chance to.
As soon as Steiner told the others about what he saw, the black dot in the distance disappeared and reappeared behind us. It flew around us, too fast to be seen, showing off it's speed. It was just trying to make us afraid by demonstrating its power. I knew psychological warfare when I saw it.
Enter: the Second Black Waltz.
He looked like a scarecrow who was given a fancy blue robe someone would find better use for at a formal dance. His wings spread out passed his arms as he landed in front of us.
"Princess Garnet," he said. "The queen is waiting for you at the castle!"
"You were all sent by the castle!?" Zidane shouted in a brilliant display of self control.
Steiner's expression changed to one of anger mixed with, well, more anger. "What? What are you talking about!?"
"Zidane and I fought something like this once." I explained. They knew this much already. I might as well tell them some more.
"You were all unconscious from the blizzard." Zidane said. "He said he was a Black Waltz!"
"Are you the one who defeated No. 1?" the scarecrow of a mage asked. "I am Black Waltz No. 2! My power, magic, and speed make me far superior to No. 1! Resistance is futile! Come, Princess. The queen awaits!"
Dagger stood her ground and adamantly refused. "No! I will not return to the castle."
The Black Waltz narrowed his eyes and gazed furiously right at Dagger. "Come with me, or you'll regret it!"
"Wait!" Steiner interrupted. "I, Steiner, shall escort the princess back to the castle!"
"Kee hee hee!" The Black Waltz threw his head back as he cackled. "You think I care? I won't let you stand in the way of my mission!"
In an instant, the Black Waltz disappeared.
"Where'd he go?" Zidane asked.
"Here!"
The Black Waltz reappeared in front of Zidane and slammed into his chest. Our group's thief was sent backwards, landing on his back and sliding for a few feet. He rolled over his shoulder at the last second and jumped back to his feet. I looked back and saw the robed mage laughing maniacally.
"BURN!!!" he cried out. He flung his arms out at his sides, each one pointed at Steiner and myself. The air heated up and huge fireballs exploded in our faces. Needless to say, it hurt a lot. I sprawled on my back, gripping the mild burn marks on my face. I could hear Steiner grunting in pain too. It seemed he wasn't quite as tough as he always seemed.
"Cure!"
A glowing, soft blue light covered the area. Within moments, my face stopped hurting, and I was able to sit up again.
Dagger was standing next to Zidane, clutching her staff and looking rather adamantly over the battlefield.
"Now, now Princess." the Black Waltz taunted. "You mustn't interfere."
The Black Waltz pressed his hands together and a dark blue ball of energy emitted from them. Since it didn't look like any of the elemental spells I knew he could use, I assumed it was his Hypnosis spell. If he hit Dagger with it, all he'd have to do is grab the Princess and run. Considering his speed, that wouldn't be very hard.
I pulled my sword out of its sheath and ran, screaming, at the entity of evil.
Unfortunately, my day had been pretty bad thus far and wasn't about to get any better.
As I neared the Black Waltz, he just disappeared. My eyes widened in shock, until I felt something's elbow ram itself into the back of my head. I fell to the ground in pain.
"You're really persistent, aren't you?" the Black Waltz said.
I pushed myself off of the ground onto my back and saw the Black Waltz standing over me. From the shape his eyes took, he was obviously grinning.
"You die now." he said simply. Light blue strands of energy surrounded his hands as he powered up another spell, no doubt aiming for my head. I shut my eyes as I waited for the pain of whatever he was going to hit me with, but it never came.
I opened my eyes a little and saw that he disappeared. All that was left was a very angry and confused Steiner, with his sword drawn. He must have stopped the Black Waltz from attacking me.
"Where-" he started.
"Give it up!" the Black Waltz yelled as he reappeared over Steiner. He threw all of his weight onto Steiner, and the rusty knight was knocked to the ground next to me. The Black Waltz followed up his attack by punching me square in the stomach, knocking all of the air out of me.
He was too fast. There was no way we could beat him.
The Black Waltz slammed his fists together again and powered up another spell. "You can't win!" he said. "This time, you'll die!" He cackled maniacally as the spell in his hands finished powering up. He aimed at us, but was cut off as a fireball exploded behind the him, engulfing his wings. He let go of his spell and tried to reach behind himself to put out the fires now raging on his back.
I twisted my neck around to see Vivi standing next to Zidane and Dagger. His staff was aimed right at the Black Waltz. I was going to have to buy Vivi a whole box full of cookies for that save.
The Black Waltz powered up a Blizzard spell and unleashed it on his burning wings. Ice crystals formed behind him and slowly covered the flames. In a matter of seconds, the fires died down, but it was too late for the Black Waltz to save his wings. They had been burned down to the bone.
"You son of a bitch!" the Black Waltz called out. He gave Vivi a look of pure hatred. "You'll pay for that!"
The Black Waltz stooped into a crouch and ran at Vivi. He powered up a spell in his hands while screaming in anger. What was interesting was that he didn't teleport like he had been. Then it hit me. Without his wings, he was just as slow as any of us.
The Black Waltz threw his arms in front of himself as the spell in his hands neared completion. Vivi stood frozen, having been overcome by the events in the factory and the current fight. In other words, he was helpless as the Black Waltz attacked him.
"Look out!" Dagger cried. She leapt out in front of him as the Black Waltz cast the spell. She and Vivi closed their eyes as the air stared to chill around them.
The Black Waltz skidded to a halt and pulled his arms into the air, aiming away from the princess. Small chunks of ice formed in midair where the Black Waltz's arms pointed. Apparently, the amount of time the caster spent aiming at his target had something to do with the strength and quality of the attack.
"Get out of the way!" the Black Waltz demanded.
"No." Dagger said as she stood with her arms stretched out at her sides, protecting Vivi.
"Princess, please stay back." Steiner begged. I'm sure that he didn't want to agree with the Black Waltz and was more concerned for her safety.
"Please Princess, let me handle this." Steiner continued.
"You worry about fighting Number Two here." Zidane said. "I'll keep Dagger safe."
"Be quiet!" Steiner demanded.
"You will all die!" the Black Waltz yelled over the din of Zidane and Steiner.
I just laughed as I stood up. By now, the Black Waltz was surrounded in an odd circle, with Steiner and myself on one side, Zidane standing a few feet from the princess, and Dagger and Vivi completing the circle across from Steiner. Everyone turned to look at me as I laughed.
"No need to fight guys." I said with an odd smile. "We can beat this thing now." I couldn't understand why I was enjoying this so much. Maybe it was pride from figuring out the Black Waltz's weaknesses, or maybe it was from the massive adrenaline rush I was having. I was always giddy when I had one of those. I got a threatening look from the Black Waltz and inquisitive looks from everyone else.
"How?" Zidane asked.
I ran a hand over my face and peered between my fingers before I answered. I shouldn't be having this much fun.
"We know two things about him now." I explained as I held up two fingers. I put one finger down as I continued my explanation. "One: he's slow now, which means we can hit him."
"What's the second thing?" Dagger asked impatiently.
I held up two fingers again. "Two: he won't attack Dagger."
Everyone looked from me, to Dagger, to the Black Waltz, fuming with rage.
"I'm more than strong enough to kill you all!" the monstrous mage yelled.
He powered up another spell and aimed it right at me. I just stood in place with my sword hanging over my shoulder, basically looking really cool.
The Black Waltz screamed as his spell reached completion. I just relaxed as I saw my unspoken plan begin to work. Magic was powerful, but it took time to power up. For example, it was long enough for Zidane and Steiner to run up and attack.
The Black Waltz's eyes shot open as he realized his folly at the last second. Time seemed to slow down as the attack unfolded. Zidane's daggers went straight at the Black Waltz as Steiner's sword traveled in an arc from the ground up.
The dark mage barely had enough time to stop his attack and jump back. Zidane's dagger still cut into his side and Steiner's sword knocked him flat onto his back. With the two of them standing on either side of him, right in front of me, it was like aiming down a shooting range.
I hoisted my sword off of my shoulder and broke into a run. I held my sword in a Zorn-hut like Steiner as I rushed.
"Move!" I yelled as I neared my target. Zidane and Steiner stepped back as I held my sword up. As soon as I was close enough I swung my sword down as hard as I could.
My plan was almost perfect.
The Black Waltz raised it's feet and caught me in the stomach at the last possible moment. It knocked almost all of the wind out of me, but it wasn't enough to stop my sword. It came down and slashed into the Black Waltz's stomach revealing a thin river of red blood as the sword cleared the injury. I fell backwards and would have fallen onto my back if Zidane wasn't there to catch me.
What do you know? Black Mages do have red blood. I had always wondered about the biology of Black Mages in comparison to humans.
"Nice plan getting him angry like that." Zidane said as he helped me back to my feet.
"Almost." I corrected. "He's still alive."
The Black Waltz slowly got to his feet, carefully holding his bleeding stomach.
"So you hit me." the Black Waltz said. "So what? I'm still strong enough to kill you."
"Don't be a fool!" Steiner said. "You don't have enough time to cast a spell."
The Black Waltz started shaking slightly. Slowly, he erupted into a series of broken laughs, which is never a good sign.
"I was holding back for the sake of showmanship," the cackling maniac said. "But now I just don't care!"
He raised his arm to the side and in a second, a small fireball was burning away in his palm. He pulled his arm back and threw the fireball right at me. I regained my balance instantly and pushed Zidane out of the way. The fireball closed in and I braced for the hit.
The fireball hit me right in the chest and exploded, knocking me to the ground. It wasn't very big and it was nothing compared to the first fireball he hit me with, but it still hurt. It was fortunate that my new shirt didn't catch on fire.
"You see?" the Black Waltz said. "I'm still more than you can handle!"
I raised my head and saw the Black Waltz powering up two fireballs, one in each hand.
"A few of these and your head will cave right in." he taunted.
He stepped back and pulled his arm to throw again. I tried to stand, but my chest burned from where I was hit. I could only move in short, labored steps. I realized too late that I wasn't going to be able to move out of the way of his attack. I shut my eyes, but saw an orange blur run in front of me just before I did.
"Dagger?"
""Get out of the way!" the Black Waltz commanded.
I opened my eyes and saw Dagger standing in front of me with her arms out, blocking the Black Waltz's only route of attack.
"Princess!" Steiner said in surprise and concern. I looked over and saw him standing at my side. "Please, get behind us."
"No! Let her stay there." Zidane said from my other side. "If she's there, then he can't attack any of us."
"Move!" the Black Waltz yelled again.
Dagger just shook her head and stood still.
"You're lucky I can't fly or I'd-" the Black Waltz was cut off as a humongous fireball exploded in his face. He fell back into a cloud of smoke.
"Good job Vivi!" Dagger called to the little mage. "Now hit him again."
"O-okay." came Vivi's response. He concentrated his power into his staff again.
"No you don't!"
A miniature fireball flew through the air and crashed into the ground at Vivi's feet. Vivi was sent through the air and landed a few feet away from where he started.
"Vivi!" Dagger called out.
Vivi got up on his hands and knees and quickly ran behind all of us on wobbly knees. Out in the open, he stood no chance. He was safest if he stood behind Dagger.
The smoke cleared and I looked at the Black Waltz in anger. Attacking me, I could understand, but hurting Vivi? That was just wrong.
"You bastard!" Zidane yelled.
The Black Waltz weakly turned to look at us. He didn't say anything. He just powered up another fireball.
"He's weakening." I pointed out.
"Yeah." Zidane agreed.
All five of us began a stare down with the silent Black Waltz. He held his fireball in his hand while the rest of us held our weapons.
"If the three of us charge him, one of us should be able to get in a mortal blow." Steiner suggested.
"You're willing to fight with us?" I asked, suspecting something was amiss. Every time we all fought, Steiner would always fight on his own, as if Zidane and I weren't even there.
"It's only to protect the Princess." Steiner justified.
"Whatever." Zidane interrupted. "On three, we go."
"Right." I said.
"Agreed." Steiner said.
"One…"
I gripped my sword tightly. If I held it tightly, I would be able to get a better running start.
"Two…"
I dug my feet into the ground so that I could launch myself better when Zidane finally said-
"THREE!"
Zidane, Steiner and I ran from behind Dagger. I fell low into my run so I could move faster. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Zidane doing the same thing. Steiner just ran noisily ahead.
The Black Waltz threw the fireball he held. It flew right towards me.
Just my luck.
I swung my sword at my feet and pole vaulted, like when I ran out on stage on the Prima Vista. I managed to miss the attack by centimeters.
I stumbled as I landed, but kept on running as soon as I regained my balance.
The Black Waltz looked on with wide eyes as Zidane was the first to reach him. The mage tried to power up another attack, but was cut short as a pair of daggers dug into his stomach and back simultaneously. Steiner came running in next and swung his sword deep into the Black Waltz's side.
Next was my assault. I held my sword in front of me and got my entire body behind my attack. As I neared my opponent, I stretched out my arms, extending my reach. The Black Waltz's eyes bulged as my sword bit deep into his chest. It pierced through to the other side, sending blood in every direction. After a moment, I raised my foot to the Black Waltz's chest and pushed against it to pull out my sword. The Black Waltz only looked pitifully as his life drained away. He collapsed to the ground in a heap.
When Zidane and I killed Black Waltz Number One, I felt some regret from taking someone's life like that.
This time, I felt nothing.
Zidane and I nodded at each other, signaling that we were okay. Steiner rushed back to Dagger's side.
"Princess!" he bellowed. "Are you okay?"
Dagger only stared at the ground in sadness and thought.
"Black Waltz Number 2…" she said. "Did my mother really send him to capture me…?"
"It can't be!" Steiner insisted. "There is no reason to trust the words of some bandit. He was just another criminal, scheming to use you for some evil deed."
"Have I not been careful enough?" Dagger asked with worry in her voice.
"Your noble upbringing cannot be disguised so easily."
"That's not true at all." Zidane said. "You haven't been watching. Dagger is trying really hard. You're the one with the problem! Walking around, yelling 'Princess!' everywhere…"
"She even changed the way she eats." I added in my usual tone. Now that the battle was done, I didn't feel the same rush of excitement.
I reached back and felt the back of my neck where that needle was stuck into my spine. I thought about what those men had said.
They said only my rage was useful to them. If that's true, then they must've injected me with a hormone or something like that to make me angry. But I wasn't angry during the fight. I was excited, and now I feel calm, like nothing happened.
I felt my stomach rumble a little bit.
Okay, I feel calm and hungry.
"About the border crossing…" Zidane said.
"Yes?" Dagger answered.
"Why don't we hitch a ride on this airship?"
"Sure, Lindblum should not be terribly far by airship!" Dagger paused to reconsider her words. "I mean…'won't be too far.' But why don't we get some rest before we go?"
"There's no telling when the airship will leave." Zidane explained. "The sooner we get on, the better."
"I…I suppose you're right." Dagger said, embarrassed that her idea had been shot down.
"Wait here while I ask the people inside if we can hitch a ride." Zidane said. He turned around to walk to the airship.
"I-I shall go ask them!" Steiner said, stepping in front of Zidane.
"Oh, really. How come?"
"I-It is not for your benefit." Steiner stumbled with his words. "I am only doing this for the princess!"
Before anyone had a chance to question him further, Steiner took off and boarded the ship. He stumbled as he climbed up the ladder in the back, but given how heavy his armor must've been and how nervous he clearly was, it wasn't that surprising.
"Steiner…" Dagger said as she watched him leave. "He was so adamant about going back to the castle before…" Dagger folded her arms as she thought to herself.
I looked behind me and saw Vivi busy staring at the ground. His hands were folded together. It was probably just a nervous habit of his.
"Hey Vivi." I said. "You okay?"
"Huh? Oh. I was just thinking…" he said.
"About what?"
"Well…" he rubbed his hands together nervously. "Those dolls they were making underground… Did you think they look like me?"
Ah, the time in life when one contemplate his or her existence by comparing him or herself to their surroundings. God, I hated going through that!
"Maybe a little." I told him. "But I wouldn't worry about it." I placed my hand on his shoulder and he looked up at me.
"You're you, the way you are now, and that's all there is to it." I told him.
Vivi looked at me, obviously confused.
"Do you understand?"
"Not really." he said.
I laughed a little, but kept it to myself, lest Vivi think I was laughing at him. He didn't need to think that people were making fun of him right now.
"Don't worry, you'll understand in time."
As soon as I finished talking, the propellers on the cargo ship started spinning.
"It's moving." Zidane said worriedly. "What the heck is Steiner up to?" He turned back and grabbed Dagger by the wrist. "Alright, we have to get on, Dagger."
"On a ship that's not going to Lindblum!?" she protested.
"I don't have time to explain." Zidane insisted as he pulled her towards the ladder in the back of the ship. "This way!"
"Let's go Vivi." I said to the little Black Mage.
"R-right."
Vivi and I quickly made our way to the back of the ship. Zidane nodded to us as we approached. Vivi carefully made his way up the ladder and I followed soon after, hoping Zidane and Dagger didn't take too long with their discussion about the ship's destination.
I stood on the small platform at the top of the ladder. I looked out at the surrounding fields. It was pretty cool watching the tall grass nearby was forced down from the wind made by the propellers. Vivi was holding onto his stomach nervously.
"You okay?" I asked again.
"I'm just nervous about flying." he explained.
"Don't worry too much about it." I told him. "We'll be fine."
"But-" he started to protest.
"Just think about something else." I suggested. "Concentrate on the different sounds the ship makes."
"Really?" Vivi asked hopefully.
"Yeah." I said.
There was a soft humming noise coming from above the ship.
"That whirling is the propellers." I explained.
A soft hissing noise came from inside the ship.
"That's the mist engine powering up."
"Aaah!" came a cry from the ladder, followed by "Ooo, soft!"
"What was that?" Vivi asked.
"…Zidane groping Dagger." I hesitantly explained.
It was going to be an arduous ship ride.
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There! Sorry that took so long. Also, I'm experimenting with how I write my fight scenes. Please let me know if they're getting better or worse.
Bah! I'm sorry too…that I didn't make you all wait long enough to beta this! P Mayhaps the next chapter I'll put off for 2-3 weeks just for all you adoring fans! - I'm an evil Beta and damn do I love my job! I'm kidding by the by, was swamped with papers and for the loss. Hope you all enjoy this Krimson and I did our best!
Rashnefein