Broken Bonds
Freya woke up in a dimly lit room. Her vision was foggy and blurred, her head felt like it had been run over by an airship.
"So you are awake, well done. You survived my Mistodon," A figure in the shadows laughed.
"You!" Freya hissed.
"Yes, me, why do you sound so shocked?" the figure asked.
"We trusted you! Zidane risked his neck to save you!" Freya cried.
"Yes, he may have. This is why I am doing him this favor. Master Garland says he must return to power. He must be the new angel of death. That does not stop me from torturing him a bit first," the captor replied.
"Why have I been brought here?" Freya demanded.
"It was a mistake, you will is too strong, unbreakable. We will just have to use someone else," The figure's lips curled into a sneer, "You shall serve as a messenger," the figure whirled around to two Genomes, "You and you! Take her, torture her to, oh about within an inch of her life, and return her to my brother. You three beside them, check those new Black Mages, see which ones have the markings of the Black Waltz, enhance them," Freya's eyes glided to the new Black Mages her captor had talked of. Six Black Mages were leaned against each other, apparently unconscious. They had steepled hats like most Black Mages, they wore blue stripped pants and a deep blue vest, they all looked just like.....
"Those are Vivi's sons!" Freya burst out.
"Yes, innocent, but powerful. I found them on the outskirts of Treno. They claimed to be looking for their brother. Their wills are strong as well. We will just have to purge their memories and reprogram them," the person mused.
"They are living beings! You treat them like they are machines!" Freya exclaimed.
"This conversation is very amusing, but I tire of it. Take her away,"
~¤~
"How is Zidane?" Dagger asked Dr. Tot.
"His condition is stable but without the medicine, I don't know how much longer Zidane can hold on. He is hanging on to his life by a mere thread," Dr. Tot had the look of great worry plastered on his face.
"What about Vivi's poison?" Dagger inquired.
"He should be fine, Eiko's Antidote seems to have worked," Dr. Tot replied.
"That much we have to be thankful for," Dagger sighed before she was rudely interrupted.
"Where is that blasted Kuja?" Steiner demanded as Kuja walked through the door, Steiner's back facing him. He cleared his throat, "There you are! You were supposed to be watching Zidane! He could have died! We trusted you to keep your word!" Kuja blushed a deep crimson.
"I was.... I.... Is Freya alright?" Kuja blurted, "I mean.... Is Zidane alright?" Kuja silently cursed himself.
"Freya is missing and Zidane is almost dead!" Eiko hollered.
"Keep down! Fratley!" Quinta hissed.
"It's alright, Quinta, I know it's my fault. I should not have left her," Fratley muttered, he didn't look up once.
"What happened to Freya?" Kuja fought to keep his voice steady.
"The Mistodon got her," Vivi said quietly, he did not look up either, he was afraid the sight of Kuja would throw him into Trance again.
"M-mistodon? Spawn of the Mist?" Kuja's voice cracked this time.
"Yep, did you make them?" Eiko accused.
"Of course not!" Kuja snapped.
"Who else knows how to make them?" Lani asked.
"......."
"Then it was you!" Dagger cried.
"....... No, it could have been anyone. As long as there is Mist, there will be Mistodon. If you know how to make them that is," Kuja looked like he was pondering something, "Mi-" He cut himself off.
"Freya!" Little Vivi rushed past Kuja to the door where Freya laid. She was eagle-spread and rested in a pool of what could only be her own blood. Fratley finally looked up.
"Freya!" Shock and despair clutched at his heart as he let his spear drop to the floor with a loud clank. Kuja took a half-step toward Freya, but then he stepped back and walked out of the room. Dagger glared at him until he was out of view and turned back to Freya. They heard the soft rustle of feathers and the flap of wings. A small gust of air floated in from the kitchen, blowing within it was a single cyan feather. They knew that Kuja had left upon his silver dragon.
"Eiko, let's," Dagger said. Eiko nodded.
"Step aside and let us do the healing!" Eiko commanded.
"Curaga!" Dagger cried.
"Curaga!" Eiko followed, the spells cast a green aura around Freya, and then...... They disappeared.
"What?!?! It doesn't work!" Steiner cried.
"We can see that!" Eiko snapped, "Tell us something we don't know!"
"Dr. Tot! Dr. Tot!" Dagger cried.
"Yes? My, I seem to be the busy one," Dr. Tot said as he walked in, "My lord! Freya! What is wrong with her?"
"Our Curaga spells don't work! Oh, Dr. Tot, what is wrong with her?" Eiko asked. Dr. Tot didn't answer, instead he rushed to Freya's side.
"I don't know.... We are dealing with a powerful evil," Dr. Tot began after examining Freya, "I believe that-" He cut himself up when Freya began attempting to speak.
"V-v-iv-i's sons.... C-cap-tu-tured," She stuttered, she grabbed Dr. Tot's collar, "It was Mi-" Freya passed out, her hand loosened and fell back to her side, freeing Dr. Tot from her grasp.
"Help me get her into the kitchen, hurry!" Dr. Tot cried. The two healers and Dr. Tot helped Freya into the bed next to Zidane.
"Who is doing this?!?!" Dagger asked.
"I haven't got a clue, dear... I believe this to be the most powerful evil ever to step foot on Gaia," Dr. Tot sighed.
"E-excuse me?" A small voice rang from behind them.
"Yes?" Dr. Tot asked as he turned around, "Oh, Vivi! Do you wish to ask something?"
"I-i am sorry to intrude but I t-thought Freya said something about m-my brothers," Vivi mumbled as he cast his eyes down and shuffled his feet. He had been acting very awkward since the attack on Zidane.
"Yeah, she did, she said they were capture and-" Eiko covered her mouth with her hands, "Oh my god! Your brothers have been captured!!!" Vivi's head snapped up and the amber glow of his eyes brightened.
"No! By who?" Vivi asked.
"No idea, she passed out but she did say 'it was Mi-'something, she never finished her sentence," Eiko began, "Ya think she meant Mistodon?"
"We've gotta go save my brothers!" Vivi cried.
"Vivi, clam down, we'll find your brothers, just calm down," Dr. Tot said.
"I am just so scared to lose them.... There all I have you know," Vivi sighed.
"Thanks not true, Vivi! Your lying to yourself...." Dagger began.
".....You'll always have us!" Eiko finished.
"Thank you, Princess Eiko, Princess Garnet," Vivi replied.
"I am not a princess!" Eiko pouted, but she laughed all the same.
"Actually, that is technically true, now that you are Regent Cid's daughter, you are the princess of Lindblum," Dr. Tot put in.
"Yeah, whatever. You kno-" Eiko jumped, a loud crash that sounded as if it had come from outside. Steiner rushed in minutes later, he was bouncing up and down, armor clanking noisily and bits of rust flicked everywhere.
"T-there is a Black Waltz outside!!!" He cried.
"Let's go," Dagger nodded to Eiko whom nodded to Vivi, Vivi nodded back, the tree magic-users rushed out.
"Once again I have been left behind," Steiner sighed as he followed. Dr. Tot cast a worried glance at Zidane and Freya, two of eight were gone, three if you counted Vivi. The Dragon Knight, and the hero. Who would be next? How many would be gone before this evil was disposed of if it could be disposed of at all?
~¤~
The Black Waltz was different from any other they had seen, for one thing it had amber eyes, for another, instead of the traditional navy-blue cape, this one wore the clothes the Vivi had worn and that of his sons. It carried no staff and the tip of it's steepled hat drooped. It's wings were cyan instead of navy.
"That's my littlest brother!" Vivi cried. Vivi recognized his brother's ash-grey hat, his father had made it that way just because the owner of the Black Cat had asked him to.
"My memory ain't as good as it used to be but I think I can recall that none of your brothers was a Black Waltz," Amarant muttered.
"Tell me, are you an total idiot or just partway?" Lani began.
"Whomever captured them must have done this," Beatrix finished. Lani glared at her.
"I am here for the summoners, give them to me," the Black Waltz commanded. Eiko and Dagger gasped, their eyes widened and they both stepped back slowly. The Black Waltz saw this.
"I don't think so....." The Black Waltz shook his head slowly and smirked. Eiko and Dagger turned and began to run for the door but they never made it.
"Stop!" Usually when someone says stop and they want to kill or kidnap you, you don't. When a Black Mage says stop, he's usually casting a spell. Dagger and Eiko stopped in mid-stride. The Black Waltz swooped down and picked them up and took of. They were out of sight before anyone had a chance to move a muscle.
"Princess!" Steiner cried.
"Queen," Dr. Tot corrected as he stepped out, "What in Gaia's name happened?"
"They're both gone," Vivi replied. Dr. Tot glanced around the darkened sky of dusk and realized who was missing.
"Four of eight. We're running out of time," Dr. Tot sighed.
~¤~
Two Genomes fastened the stopped Eiko and Dagger to a wall, then carefully fitted gags over their mouths. Then they countered the Stop spell with a Remedy. The two blinked and looked around, after a few minutes, they realized where they were.
"Mmmph!" Eiko tried to shout, but the gag was working.
"Hmmmphmum!" Dagger struggled. A wisp of hot silver light brushed over their gags and they fell off.
"Where are we?!? What the hell do you think you are?!?!" Eiko shouted as soon as she found her voice.
"My, my, my, aren't we feisty? I think I am Garland's best creation, what do you think? Hahahaha, of course you wouldn't think so. No Gaia native can recognize my genius," the figure chuckled to themselves.
"Why have we been brought here? Why have you done this? You have betrayed Zidane's trust!" Dagger cried.
"No, Zidane is the traitor. He betrayed Garland be refusing to become the new Angel of Death. He must be brought to power, I shall be the one to do so,"
"What have you done to Vivi's brothers?" Eiko demanded.
"Nothing much, I hand picked the three with Black Waltz potential, purged their memories, enhanced them, and reprogrammed them,"
"You're a monster!" Dagger accused.
"Perhaps so, it matters not to me,"
"I can't believe we waited while all hell broke loose to save your sorry butt!" Eiko yelled.
"Why have we been brought here?!?!" Dagger repeated.
"For corruption," The captor smirked and snapped their fingers, Dagger and Eiko shrieked loudly with pain. Projection visors had been placed over their eyes and they had just been sent into their own, personal hells.
Eiko: "M-mama! Papa! Whaaaaa! Maaamaa!" Eiko saw a smaller version of herself trapped in a burning home. Madain Sari was burning, all over again. Little Eiko was trapped, she choked on the harsh, jet-black smoke. "Mog! Help me! Whaaaa!" Eiko didn't remember the destruction of Madain Sari but she had seen it, she had dreamt about being trapped. Now it was happening all over again, "I don't wanna be alone! Not again!" Little Eiko sobbed as she rocked herself back and forth. "Let me out! I don't wanna be alone! W-where are you, Zidane? Not again, not again...."
"Eiko! Eiko! Where are you? Where is my baby!?" There was fear in her mother's voice.
"You don't think she's still in the house, do you?" a male voice, her father.
"No! I have to go get her!" Her mother began to run back to the house, Eiko could barely see her form through the hot, orange flames. Little Eiko outstretched her arms.
"Mama! Mama!" Little Eiko she cried harder than ever.
"My baby!" Eiko's mother was almost at the door before her father grabbed her mother's arm.
"No, I'll go, you stay out here," Eiko's mother stood there, shocked. Her father ran into the house, "Eiko! Eiko! Listen to your papa, tell me what your favorite Eidolon is," Her father did this to keep Eiko calm and to find her location.
"M-madeen a-and Fenrir," Little Eiko whispered.
"Speak up, sweet-pea," her father replied.
"M-Madeen and Fenrir!" Little Eiko shouted.
"I see you honey, just stay where you a-" Just then, a few of the pillars above her father caved in, "Aaaahhhh!" Her father cried.
"Papa! Papa!" Eiko rushed to her father's side.
"R-run, Eiko, r-run t-t-to your mother...." Her father was dying, and it was all her fault.
"Papa, it's all my fault! All my fault!" Little Eiko sobbed.
"Run!" Eiko's father hissed. Little Eiko was shocked, her father had never raised his voice to her. Little Eiko turned and fled to her mother, the flames singed her clothes as she burst through the flames that blocked the doorway, she didn't stop until she was safe in her mother's arms. Eiko followed but the flames did not hurt her. She couldn't feel a thing. She could even walk through solid objects. On top of it all, no one noticed her, it was if she was a ghost. No, she was the only real one, everyone else was a ghost, ghosts of the past.
"Where's your papa?" her mother asked.
"It's all my fault, Mama! All my fault! Mama, Papa's dead becuase of me! It's all my fault!!!" Eiko continued to sob.
"My, you look extra crispy," Her grandfather tried to cheer them up, the crumbling, burning city around him did not help.
"Come n-now, lets go to the Eidolon Wall, the Eidolons will protect us...." tears fell from her mothers eyes. Little Eiko cast her eyes down and cried some more as she was lead away.
A few of the Madain Sari citizens were gathered at the Eidolon Wall. Eiko guessed that the rest were dead. Little Eiko wandered off and started looking at the pictures of the Eidolons on the wall. Suddenly, the rocks above her became unstable and a few pebbles fell, Little Eiko didn't notice. "Eiko!!!" Her mother ran over and pushed her out of the way, the boulders fell upon her mother instead. Eiko stared in disbelief.
'No! No! No!' Eiko thought as she sat down and hugged her knees. She began to rock herself slowly, back and forth, 'It's all my fault, I killed them all.... All my fault, I killed them all, it all my fault!' Somewhere nearby, Little Eiko did the same thing, her grandfather trying to comfort her in vain.
~¤~
Dagger: Dagger awoke to a familiar face, "Blank?!?! What are you doing in my room!?!?! Out! Out! Out!" Dagger shouted. 'Room?' She thought, 'But? How did I get here?'
"Whoa, whoa, babe, calm down, I just wanted to ask ya somethin," Blank looked very angry, his eyes had a haunted, deathly look to them, "Why did you kill Zidane?"
:"K-kill Zidane?!?! I did no such thing!" Dagger found herself growing angry as well, "Why would I kill him?"
"That's what we want to know. All of us, my Queen," His voice dripped heavy with sarcasm, "All of us at Tantalus,"
"How did you get in here?!?!" Dagger demanded.
"Hey, I do this for a living," although his voice was filled with hate, Dagger was experiencing serious de'ja vu.
"I'm sorry, I don't recall murdering the only man I ever loved!" Dagger hollered.
"Don't play dumb with me, you had your cute little Captain Steiner execute Zidane and General Beatrix so that you two could be together, I know the bull you fed to your people. They may have bought it, but I don't. You accused Zidane of your attempted assassination and that General Beatrix was his partner in crime," If you could have seen Blank's eyes, they would be narrowing right now. (By the way, how in Terra's name does Blank see with a belt over his eyes?!?!?!)
"I would never!" Dagger replied. Blank balled his fists as if he was going to throw a punch at the queen but instead he jammed one of his hands into his pocket and pulled out a scroll. He thrust it at Dagger.
"Read it and see if you can still deny this!: Reluctantly, Dagger opened the scroll.
By the order of Queen Garnet til Alexanderos the 17th, the execution of Zidane Tribal and General Beatrix of the Alexandrian Knights will be held in the Theater District of Lindblum. The charge is: Attempted assassination of the Queen. It shall be held on the 25th of the month.
Below that was the Alexandrian crest. The hand that held the letter became very shaky. Dagger took her free hand and covered her mouth, she inhaled sharply and gasped, "N-no! I-i could not have done this...." Blank scowled and grabbed her wrists.
"Deny it all you want, but you-killed-Zidane!" Blank tightened his grip, Dagger screamed. Steiner and two of the Pluto Knights rushed in.
"Stay away from her!" Steiner cried.
"See, he is why you killed my bro, you two sicken me," Blank spat. Dagger suddenly found herself unable to control herself.
"Execute him," The words just slipped out of her mouth. In her mind she was screaming, 'NO! BLANK!!! NO!!!!' But she couldn't she couldn't speak.
"Yes your Highness, tis my pleasure to serve you," Steiner grinned, Dagger shuddered, 'This is all wrong! What is happening?!' she thought. The two Pluto Knights took Blank by the arms, Blank struggled and pulled, he faced Dagger, Dagger thought she would never be able to erase the picture of pure hatred that was etched on every (handsome) feature of Blank's face.
"My bro's will avenge my death, one way or another!" Blank spat at Dagger, "I hope you burn for you sins, to believe Zidane fell you a brat like you. He would have been better off with Eiko!"
"Take him away! Ensure he has a slow and painful death for speaking in such a manner before the queen!" Steiner pecked Dagger on the cheek before he left. Dagger felt the lump in her throat clear, she could speak freely now, but it was too late. She had murdered three people. She could not remember how this started. She had been in a lab, with Eiko, they had slipped visors over their eyes and....
"Nooooooo!!!! Aaaahhhhh!" AHHHHHH!" Screams echoed through the halls, it was Blank's voice. Steiner's voice rung in her ears, 'ensure that he has a slow and painful death'
"No!!! BLANK!!!!" Dagger fell to the ground sobbing, "What have I done? W-what have I done? It's all my fault.... I've killed them all.... Blank, Zidane, Beatrix.... I've killed them all.... It's all my fault...."
Eiko continued to sob with Little Eiko, Dagger refused to pick herself up off the floor. They cried out in unison.
"It's all my fault, I've killed them all,"
~¤~
Kuja returned about an hour later, the first thing that met him when he stepped through the doorframe was Amarant's fist, he caught it. "What happened?"
"The girls were kidnapped you idiot!" Amarant hissed.
"H-hey guys... What d-did I miss?" It was Zidane.
"Zidane! You're alright!" Vivi cried happily.
"You live! I is happy!" Quinta cried, "I go make food for you!" Before anyone replied. s/he was gone.
"Dagger and Eiko have been kidnapped," Amarant sighed.
"What?!" Zidane suddenly lost his tired look, "By who?"
"We don't know.... Whomever it is is beyond our powers. They even managed to enhance Vivi's brothers into Black Waltz," Beatrix said.
"I guess it's time," Kuja sighed.
"Time for? Oh.... Kuja, you don't have to...." Zidane began, Kuja put up a hand and didn't let him continue.
"Yes, I do. My sacrifice is the only way for this to work,"
So, how was it? Did I do too bad? Oh, in your reviews, tell me who you think the villan is, the one who kidnapped everyone and such. Leave your E-mail and I'll tell you if you guessed right.
