Notes: Garnet, Zidane, Alexandria, and all other characters and locations originally mentioned
in Final Fantasy IX belong to Squaresoft. All other characters and locations belong to myself.
Questions, comments, and constructive critisicm are more than welcome.
A Fine Mess - Chapter 2
by Makou
"Is it poison?" asked Zircon of the doctor.
"I'm not entirely sure; I still haven't finished the diagnosis. For all we know, it could
just be her age catching up with her," said the doctor, rubbing his hands nervously.
"I highly doubt that. My mother could not be in finer health up till now." Zircon eyed the
doctor as if he were a potential suspect, which he was. At least, according to Zircon, he was.
"Will she recover soon?"
"If by recover you mean regain conciousness, yes. An hour is my estimate. A full recovery
could take some time, though."
"How long?" Zircon's glare could cut through a rock.
"Factoring in her age and the apparent seriousness of her illness, I would guess a month
at the very least." The doctor was still rubbing his hands and looking to Zircon as if the
Prince were about to eat him. Once in awhile, his glasses would slip down to the end of his nose
and he would cease the rubbing of the hands for long enough to put the glasses back in their
proper position.
While Zircon was interrogating the doctor, King Zidane was at his wife's side. Fifty years
had changed him considerably, at least in regards to physical appearance: his formerly blonde
hair had turned a snowy white along with his tail, and a neatly groomed moustache had appeared
in the usual place for moustaches. He wore a navy blue suit, which was the fanciest clothing
that Garnet managed to get him into after all these years. When he walked, it was apparent that
he walked with a slight limp in his left leg; that was due to an accident that occured when he
was twenty-five.
"Will she be able to see the play?" queried Zidane, looking up at the doctor.
"I highly doubt that," said the doctor, adjusting his glasses for the umpteenth time. "I'd
be suprised if she'd manage to get out of bed."
"What if somebody carried her? She'd be able to sit up, right?"
"Yes, maybe, but..."
"Father, what mother needs right now is rest! It won't do her any good shuttling her
everywhere in the castle and back again!" said Zircon angrily.
"I didn't say we should shuttle her everywhere. I just want her to be able to see the
play," said Zidane calmly.
"Father...!"
"Zircon," began Zidane as he looked up at his son. "Do you have any idea what this play
means to your mother?"
"But her health..."
"What was it, fifty-two years ago when we first met? I was in Tantalus back then, you
know. Can you guess what play we were performing that night? And a year later, when Dagger and I
were reunited, do you know what play was being performed?"
For once, Zircon looked smaller than his father. "I am sorry, father."
"Oh, lighten up, will you?" said Zidane, cracking a smile. "You sound like ol' Rusty, for
crying out loud!" Seeing Zircon's less than amused expression, he added, "Look, I know you're
worried about your mother. So am I. But holing her up in this room is just going to make her
unhappy, got it?"
Zidane got up from his bedside chair and hobbled over to his son. He reached up, patted
him on the shoulder, and said, "Don't worry about it. Your mother's going to be fine. Now, why
don't you go talk to that knight over there that looks like he's going to die of fright?"
Zircon turned his head to see Mikhail clutching a sheet of parchment. "Captain, Thimis and
Loren have successfully extracted the needed information from the criminal Nickel Gerard. Here's
the report, captain sir." He thrust his hand out and gave Zircon the parchment. "If you need me,
I'll be by the moat," he said before he ran off.
"Criminal?" said Zidane, raising an eyebrow. "Do tell."
"You are more than welcome to read the report after I am finished." said Zircon.
July 18, 496 A.C.
Nickel Gerard, a Red Mage from the city of Yudora, began randomly
attacking commoners in Alexandria Square at around two o'clock
this afternoon. I, Thimis Jekarta, and Loren Farison were on hand
to apprehend Nickel Gerard, after which we imprisoned him in the
dungeon as per Captain Zircon's orders. We were then commanded to
interrogate him and at around halfway through our two man version
of 'I Want to be Your Canary' (with chipmunk voices), Nickel
finally broke down and told us why he did what he did.
Nickel Gerard is part of the Juuroku independence movement in
Yudora. When questioned further, Nickel revealed that he, along
with several others of his number, was merely creating a
distraction while someone else was to sneak into the castle to do
an unknown nefarious deed. In my personal opinion, however, if
Nickel is a standard representation of all Juuroku members, then
the trespasser is too thick to find his own backside without
directions.
- Thimis Jekarta, Knight of Pluto
"That must be it!" cried Zircon. "Someone must have sneaked into the castle and poisoned
mother! It makes perfect sense!"
"Woah, slow down there!" Zidane snatched the parchment out of Zircon's hand and scanned it
over. "It looks like you're right," he said after a few moments. "Get your men to go ask Nickel
what type of poison was used, got it?"
"Yes, father. But there is just one thing I wish to ask before I take my leave..."
"And what's that?"
"Where is Amethyst? Shouldn't she be here? Surely she has been told what has happened!"
"Amethyst has a few things she has to take care of," said Zidane. "Don't worry, your
little sister will be up here soon."
"Right..." He started out the door, but then paused. "And have Finn and Cadrin arrived
yet?" he asked, referring to his wife and son.
"Not yet. They should be here soon, though, shouldn't they?"
"Right. Be sure to send someone down to tell me if they should arrive." He left the room,
presumably to go down to the dungeon.
Zidane looked to the doctor and said, "Well? Aren't you supposed to doing something,
too?" The doctor immediately scrambled back to the Queen and continued checking her over.
"The Rosary flower?" said Zircon after Thimis emerged from the dungeon and reported the
information requested.
"Yes, captain. Have you heard of it?" Thimis asked. A city boy like him in all probability
did not know a great deal about the flora of the world beyond what appeared on his dinner plate.
"I have heard of it before, but I do not know the details..." Zircon said.
"Er... Should I go get one those researcher guys in the library to look it up?" suggested
Thimis. "One of them should know, shouldn't they?"
"Excellent idea, Thimis. Report to me once you've found the appopriate information. Also,"
he added. "If you see Princess Amethyst, tell her to go to Queen Garnet's room immediately."
"Yes, captain!" Thimis saluted to Zircon and ran off towards the library.
Once again, Zircon found himself leaning against the wall of the dungeon. It was his fault
his mother was poisoned, he knew. If he wasn't so worried about that bloody Red Mage, no one
would have the opportunity to poison his mother. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, he
always found that his efforts were aimed in an entirely wrong direction...
Finn and Cadrin were certainly taking awhile, no matter what his father said. Did
something happen to them too? *No, that is just paranoia speaking,* thought Zircon. *They might
have left late or they might have had engine troubles. Or the weather could be particularly
troublesome around Treno.*
*Besides,* he thought bitterly. *Those criminals already managed to harm my mother. What
else would they want to do, short of putting the city to torch?*
in Final Fantasy IX belong to Squaresoft. All other characters and locations belong to myself.
Questions, comments, and constructive critisicm are more than welcome.
A Fine Mess - Chapter 2
by Makou
"Is it poison?" asked Zircon of the doctor.
"I'm not entirely sure; I still haven't finished the diagnosis. For all we know, it could
just be her age catching up with her," said the doctor, rubbing his hands nervously.
"I highly doubt that. My mother could not be in finer health up till now." Zircon eyed the
doctor as if he were a potential suspect, which he was. At least, according to Zircon, he was.
"Will she recover soon?"
"If by recover you mean regain conciousness, yes. An hour is my estimate. A full recovery
could take some time, though."
"How long?" Zircon's glare could cut through a rock.
"Factoring in her age and the apparent seriousness of her illness, I would guess a month
at the very least." The doctor was still rubbing his hands and looking to Zircon as if the
Prince were about to eat him. Once in awhile, his glasses would slip down to the end of his nose
and he would cease the rubbing of the hands for long enough to put the glasses back in their
proper position.
While Zircon was interrogating the doctor, King Zidane was at his wife's side. Fifty years
had changed him considerably, at least in regards to physical appearance: his formerly blonde
hair had turned a snowy white along with his tail, and a neatly groomed moustache had appeared
in the usual place for moustaches. He wore a navy blue suit, which was the fanciest clothing
that Garnet managed to get him into after all these years. When he walked, it was apparent that
he walked with a slight limp in his left leg; that was due to an accident that occured when he
was twenty-five.
"Will she be able to see the play?" queried Zidane, looking up at the doctor.
"I highly doubt that," said the doctor, adjusting his glasses for the umpteenth time. "I'd
be suprised if she'd manage to get out of bed."
"What if somebody carried her? She'd be able to sit up, right?"
"Yes, maybe, but..."
"Father, what mother needs right now is rest! It won't do her any good shuttling her
everywhere in the castle and back again!" said Zircon angrily.
"I didn't say we should shuttle her everywhere. I just want her to be able to see the
play," said Zidane calmly.
"Father...!"
"Zircon," began Zidane as he looked up at his son. "Do you have any idea what this play
means to your mother?"
"But her health..."
"What was it, fifty-two years ago when we first met? I was in Tantalus back then, you
know. Can you guess what play we were performing that night? And a year later, when Dagger and I
were reunited, do you know what play was being performed?"
For once, Zircon looked smaller than his father. "I am sorry, father."
"Oh, lighten up, will you?" said Zidane, cracking a smile. "You sound like ol' Rusty, for
crying out loud!" Seeing Zircon's less than amused expression, he added, "Look, I know you're
worried about your mother. So am I. But holing her up in this room is just going to make her
unhappy, got it?"
Zidane got up from his bedside chair and hobbled over to his son. He reached up, patted
him on the shoulder, and said, "Don't worry about it. Your mother's going to be fine. Now, why
don't you go talk to that knight over there that looks like he's going to die of fright?"
Zircon turned his head to see Mikhail clutching a sheet of parchment. "Captain, Thimis and
Loren have successfully extracted the needed information from the criminal Nickel Gerard. Here's
the report, captain sir." He thrust his hand out and gave Zircon the parchment. "If you need me,
I'll be by the moat," he said before he ran off.
"Criminal?" said Zidane, raising an eyebrow. "Do tell."
"You are more than welcome to read the report after I am finished." said Zircon.
July 18, 496 A.C.
Nickel Gerard, a Red Mage from the city of Yudora, began randomly
attacking commoners in Alexandria Square at around two o'clock
this afternoon. I, Thimis Jekarta, and Loren Farison were on hand
to apprehend Nickel Gerard, after which we imprisoned him in the
dungeon as per Captain Zircon's orders. We were then commanded to
interrogate him and at around halfway through our two man version
of 'I Want to be Your Canary' (with chipmunk voices), Nickel
finally broke down and told us why he did what he did.
Nickel Gerard is part of the Juuroku independence movement in
Yudora. When questioned further, Nickel revealed that he, along
with several others of his number, was merely creating a
distraction while someone else was to sneak into the castle to do
an unknown nefarious deed. In my personal opinion, however, if
Nickel is a standard representation of all Juuroku members, then
the trespasser is too thick to find his own backside without
directions.
- Thimis Jekarta, Knight of Pluto
"That must be it!" cried Zircon. "Someone must have sneaked into the castle and poisoned
mother! It makes perfect sense!"
"Woah, slow down there!" Zidane snatched the parchment out of Zircon's hand and scanned it
over. "It looks like you're right," he said after a few moments. "Get your men to go ask Nickel
what type of poison was used, got it?"
"Yes, father. But there is just one thing I wish to ask before I take my leave..."
"And what's that?"
"Where is Amethyst? Shouldn't she be here? Surely she has been told what has happened!"
"Amethyst has a few things she has to take care of," said Zidane. "Don't worry, your
little sister will be up here soon."
"Right..." He started out the door, but then paused. "And have Finn and Cadrin arrived
yet?" he asked, referring to his wife and son.
"Not yet. They should be here soon, though, shouldn't they?"
"Right. Be sure to send someone down to tell me if they should arrive." He left the room,
presumably to go down to the dungeon.
Zidane looked to the doctor and said, "Well? Aren't you supposed to doing something,
too?" The doctor immediately scrambled back to the Queen and continued checking her over.
"The Rosary flower?" said Zircon after Thimis emerged from the dungeon and reported the
information requested.
"Yes, captain. Have you heard of it?" Thimis asked. A city boy like him in all probability
did not know a great deal about the flora of the world beyond what appeared on his dinner plate.
"I have heard of it before, but I do not know the details..." Zircon said.
"Er... Should I go get one those researcher guys in the library to look it up?" suggested
Thimis. "One of them should know, shouldn't they?"
"Excellent idea, Thimis. Report to me once you've found the appopriate information. Also,"
he added. "If you see Princess Amethyst, tell her to go to Queen Garnet's room immediately."
"Yes, captain!" Thimis saluted to Zircon and ran off towards the library.
Once again, Zircon found himself leaning against the wall of the dungeon. It was his fault
his mother was poisoned, he knew. If he wasn't so worried about that bloody Red Mage, no one
would have the opportunity to poison his mother. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, he
always found that his efforts were aimed in an entirely wrong direction...
Finn and Cadrin were certainly taking awhile, no matter what his father said. Did
something happen to them too? *No, that is just paranoia speaking,* thought Zircon. *They might
have left late or they might have had engine troubles. Or the weather could be particularly
troublesome around Treno.*
*Besides,* he thought bitterly. *Those criminals already managed to harm my mother. What
else would they want to do, short of putting the city to torch?*