Volume 1

Chapter 14

Dagger

A bell. One clear chime in the darkness. "What's that sound…?" Zidane opened his eyes, barely able to feel his body. He didn't know how long he'd slept; minutes, hours, longer? The freezing wind continued to billow through the tunnel, and Garnet was still unconscious close by. Had he really heard a bell? Summoning his strength, Zidane pulled himself off the ice; everything felt heavy, but he forced his muscles into motion, while his mind still battled the urge to sleep. He turned to the far end of the tunnel, from which the gale surged. "It came from over there…" he said to himself, his words slow and shivering. "Is somebody there…?" but his call was barely audible even to him. Keeping his arms tucked close to his chest, Zidane made his way to the end of the tunnel, but the fastest he could manage was walking.

Just beyond, the tunnel opened up into a bright hollow with tall walls. A frozen waterfall stood like a monument, the lashings of iced water forming curled crystals towards the base, where there would have been a pool. The mist wafted down from above, from a series of ledges ascending the cave wall, but Zidane couldn't make out solid details.

"Why didn't you fall asleep?"

Forgetting the cold, Zidane jumped into a fighting stance, his hands hovering over the hilts of his daggers. The voice had echoed down from overhead, where a dark shape rested on the lowest ledge.

"You should be dead by now…" The words came out sharp and low, as cold and cutting as the ice around them.

"Are you the one causing this blizzard?" Zidane called up.

The creature landed before him. It was tall, but hunched over itself, with large blue wings sticking out at right angles from its back, and a face similar to Vivi's, only older and with sinister slits for eyes. It even wore a pointed hat and patched up coat, and in its right hand it carried a large gold bell. It flapped its wings once and laughed. "Hee-hee-hee… That's right!"

Zidane realised the wind had travelled with the creature, was emanating from its body in every direction

It raised its bell towards the thief, and let out one clear ring, then it to the open spread of ice beside it and rang the bell again over the palm of its free hand. "Ice Giant! Sealion…" it boomed, bringing the bell out in a whipping motion, "come before me!" It let one chime fill the space and then stepped back.

A cone of ice broke up from the ground, quickly surrounded by more splinters, until it towered over them both, reaching to fill half the cave. When it had extended to its maximum height, it shattered, sending shards scattering outwards, revealing a massive serpentine beast. It thrashed around, two long tails swaying behind it, and two wing like arms fluttering at its sides. Its body was coated in huge scales shining like plate mail, apart from on its face which appeared to be covered in a stone mask, from which two tusks hung down, and two red slits acted as eyes. On its chest, a glowing ball of blue light shone, guarded by a set of stone ribs.

"Go sealion!" The mage shouted, gleefully.

Zidane whipped out his daggers, sizing up his opponents. The beast threw his concentration by bashing him with a wing, and its master took the opportunity to release a fire spell, sending out a wave of flame with another ring of his bell. The heat was unbearable, momentarily searing Zidane's frozen skin, but it actually kicked his senses back into gear. He shook off the attacks, lunging forward to lay his blade into the monster. The sealion flinched back, and Zidane spotted a mythril dagger embedded beneath one of its scales. Beside it, the mage laughed, and turned to its creature. A familiar green glow encircled it, and the cut that Zidane had just dug into the beast, sealed shut.

So, he had to take out the master first? Got it!

But the reality of the fight hit Zidane. He was up against two enemies, alone. Without Vivi's magic, his attacks would have to be precise and deadly, and without Garnet, he would have to rely on his potion stock to stay alive. Another wing bashed him backwards, but he kept his footing, rushing forward to deliver a blow to the mage. It didn't bother healing itself, instead retaliating with a blizzard spell, catching Zidane momentarily in frost. Not seconds later, the sealion mimicked him, leaving Zidane panting. He quickly downed a potion to rejuvenate himself.

Zidane's attacks just weren't enough. Even after several more hits, the master was still standing, sending out fire and ice, one after another, while its pet swung at him repeatedly. Whenever he felt tired or too much pain, Zidane used up another potion, but they were quickly depleting. He kept laying into the mage with all the power he had, but it wasn't working, and it was starting to tick him off. This creep had put his friends to sleep, was slowly draining them of strength with a blizzard. Anger boiled deep inside him, breaking through the cold, and when Zidane rushed in again, he felt the power surging through his arms. As the daggers sliced through him, the mage crumbled.

"Uh…!" it moaned, landing face down on the ice. "Sealion, kill him for me!" And the thing just disappeared, leaving Zidane alone to face its pet!

One on one! At last, a fair fight! If you didn't count size and magic ability, but Zidane rarely did. Initially, the beast kept up with its usual trick, but alone the blizzard attacks were less intense, and Zidane fought through them, landing effective blows from every angle. And then its ball turned an eye searing shade of yellow, and it upped its game.

The freezing attacks doubled in strength. A star of ice grew out from Zidane's centre, rendering him paralyzed for a moment, while the savage frozen ornament shattered, its remains pelting him. He expected to feel Garnet's soothing magic, but of course he didn't. She was still back in the tunnel, sleeping, freezing to death. Images of his team flashed through his mind as he took hit after hit. Exhausted, he hunched over, taking another potion, now in desperately low supply. His anger was starting to build up again, and he grabbed onto it, using fury to push away fatigue.

The sealion kept up its barrage of icy attacks, dispersing regular wing punches for good measure. Every part of Zidane was bruised or bloody, but he let the pain fuel him, remembering Vivi and Garnet, and hell, even Rusty.

And then the monster's magic sphere turned crimson, and Zidane knew it was about to get worse.

Sure enough, the sealion began flapping its arms and curling back over itself. Zidane's eyes widened as he watched a wall of water rise up from behind the beast, foam bubbling at the crest of the wave. He hankered down, preparing for the hit. It flowed down over him, a current of needles cutting into his flesh, sucking away what remained of his warmth. Numb and drenched, Zidane staggered back into fighting stance, and smiled. That hit was everything he had needed. His body was shivering not only with cold, but with power. A tingling sensation branched out from his core, his fury taking over. The pink glow pushed through his skin and clothes, revealing his raw form bathed in light, and inside he felt the familiar strength, the power that could save his friends.

Trance.

There was something different about it now, a new facet to the energy he gained, twisting in the back of his mind. It conjured itself into existence without any involvement from Zidane, almost using him as a vessel in which to come alive. He knew what to do without even thinking. A new Dyne attack. Tidal Flame.

Rising his dagger into the air, Zidane released the energy raging inside of him. It formed a semi-circle in front of the sealion, creaking the ice. A force, orange and unflinching, pushed up and closed in on the monster, overwhelming it with a wave of heat, which passed through its body like it were paper. The sealion flailed in pain for a moment before collapsing, the power of the attack still ripping through its body, quickly turning it to dust, leaving Zidane the victor. He flipped in his triumph as the remainder of his anger, and his strength, left him.

With the monsters gone, the temperature rose dramatically; without the wind the freezing edge dissipated leaving only a comfortable chill. The column of ice against the back of the cave thawed instantaneously becoming a gentle waterfall once again, with a rippling pool of clear water at the bottom. And there, at the top of the cave, a short winding walk away, was the exit.

"You defeated No.1, but No.2 and No.3 will reclaim the Princess" The words drifted calmly on the air; the acoustics made it sound like two voices speaking at once.

"Wh-Who's there?" Zidane looked around, but couldn't locate the speaker. He crossed his arms, muttering "oh, whatever…" before his brain kicked back into place. Garnet, Vivi, Rusty! "I've gotta go back and check on them!"

From the highest ledge, two jesters watched as the tailed thief rushed away.

(!)

Garnet lifted herself off the ground, sensation returning to her numbed extremities. The wind was gone, the mist subdued, and everything appeared slightly brighter than before she'd slept. When had she fallen asleep? She dusted a clump of frost from her knee, noticing both Vivi and Steiner had woken also, and were stretching and brushing off. The crunch of ice alerted her to someone walking quickly towards them.

"Zidane!" she called, moving away from the ledge to greet him. Vivi ascended the rocks, followed enthusiastically by Steiner, but Garnet kept her eyes on the thief. The poor boy looked a little worse for wear, his clothes frosted and his hair messed, but he smiled when he saw her.

"Hey there," he said, "Everybody okay?"

Before the princess could answer, Steiner strode over, placing himself between them. He raised an angry hand at Zidane. "You! What just happened?"

"It was no big deal," Zidane replied, shrugging. It didn't look like nothing, Garnet had to admit, but she declined to say anything.

"You're hiding something!" Steiner continued, leaping in the air in his impatience.

"Hey, nothing happened," Zidane retorted, a steely edge to his usual calm tones. "You heard me."

"You…" Steiner hesitated, carefully considering the rest of his sentence, "didn't touch the princess, did you?"

Zidane's face fell into a scowl. "Just what are you accusing me of?" Garnet felt her cheeks burn, suddenly

"Steiner, he said nothing happened," she interjected, "why are you being so rude?"

The knight was instantly rebuked, lowering his head, and softening his voice. "… My apologies, Princess."

Zidane did nothing to hide his smirk. Garnet continued. "Well, I'm glad everyone is safe. Shall we move on?" Suddenly, Zidane turned his back on them, folding his arms and bringing a hand to his chin, thoughtfully. He stood there a moment, quietly, and Garnet could only guess at what he was thinking. "Zidane?" she said, carefully. "Is something bothering you?"

When he spun back around, his reassuring smile was back. "No…" he said, "it's nothing."

(!)

Garnet walked out into the daylight, and took in a deep breath of warm air. Outside the cavern, the world was bright and clear, and, thankfully, free of Mist. White mountain peaks surrounded the lush Nolrich Heights below; Garnet clutched her hands over her chest, taking it all in.

"We made it through the Mist!" she announced, happily. Behind her Vivi jumped for joy. "Oh, the sun feels great!"

"Look there's a village," Zidane said, pointing into the distance. A little ways off, close to the plateau's precipice, was a cluster of domed buildings. The thief brought a hand to his chin, "I think I've been there before".

"It sounds like you've been everywhere, Zidane," Garnet commented. "The only other world's I've visited are in books". She turned to him. "You may have been to that village. Let's go visit."

Eager, the princess started down the winding slope leading down to the plateau. It was wonderful to have firm land beneath her feet again. She had only gone a few steps when Zidane stopped her. "Wait. Hold it." She turned back to face him, and he continued, "You're a princess. You can't just go rushing in there." He returned to his contemplative pose. "People are looking for you. You need a new identity."

Steiner strode over, determined, his face scrunched up in disgust. "Insolent fool!" He gave Zidane a hard shove in the chest, catching the boy off guard, sending him nearly toppling over the edge of the passage. One of his bladed weapons came loose, and clattered down across the rock, skidding to a stop near Garnet's feet. "The princess need not sneak around!" Zidane flailed his arms, rebalancing himself, shooting the knight an angry scowl; he jumped into an attack form. Garnet couldn't take her eyes off the weapon at her feet; she'd never actually seen one so close before. The blade reflected the sunlight in a way the princess found mesmerising, beautiful even, and yet she had seen how deadly it could be when Zidane wielded it. Such a curious thing.

Steiner continued his outburst, "Besides, we are heading back to the castle. You leave her alone!" He waved his hands, accusingly. "And you will address her as 'Princess' from now on, you silly peasant!"

"Dammit, Rusty! Why don't you just shut up?" Zidane spat, leaning right into the knight's face. "Who do you think you are? I don't take orders from a stuck-up jerk like you!"

"You guys!" Vivi said, his voice more fierce than Garnet would have believed possible. She had to echo the sentiment.

"Stop it, you two," she scolded, coming towards them. Both men became quiet, looking at her. "… Steiner, I do not intend to return to the castle. And I do see Zidane's point, I need a new name…" her eyes fell back to the blade in her hand, she held it out to the thief. "Zidane, what is this called?"

"That? That's a dagger," he explained, nonchalantly. Garnet regarded the weapon again, pondering the title in her mind, turning the blade over to view it from both angles. "All knives of that length are called daggers. Short swords are bit longer. The big sword you hold with both hands is called a broadsword. And…"

"Oh, okay… I understand now," Garnet interrupted. Zidane slumped forwards, hanging his head and arms low in disappointment, but the princess really didn't need to hear anymore. "So, this is called a 'dagger'," she said, mostly to herself, turning her back on the others, and lifting the blade once more.

"Princess! It's a weapon! Please, be careful."

"I've decided," Garnet said, spinning on her heal to face them again. "From now on, my name is Dagger."

Her guardian looked horrified, but for once, didn't deign to voice his obvious opinion; Zidane smiled at the notion. Perhaps he didn't think she was serious? It probably wasn't a common name, but it seemed to fit so ideally. It was unique, but not distractingly so, and the word had an adventurous ring to it that she found pleasant, like a character from a Lord Avon play. Besides, no one would suspect a member of royalty would take the name of a bandit's knife.

"I will be called Dagger from now on," she reiterated. "What do you think Zidane?"

"Is that okay with you?" he said. In truth, he thought it a little crude for such a pretty girl, but it was important she was happy with it.

"Yes."

"Great, Dagger," he replied, rolling the name around on his tongue. He liked the way it sounded on his lips, and smiled at her. "Now, let's work on your speech… Try to sound more casual. Like me!"

"I shall try," Dagger ventured.

"No, no, no…" What would Vivi say? he thought, glancing at the mage, recalling their conversations for inspiration. In return, Vivi gave him a questioning look. "Just say… 'Alrighty'."

"A-Alrighty!" Dagger repeated, but the word came out stiff and unsure.

"You're getting the hang of it!" Zidane encouraged, with a nod. "Well, let's go."

Dagger nodded her agreement, and the four silently made their way down the track to the village across the plains.