Final Fantasy IX and everything related to it is Squaresoft's property.
This story was written by QualmC661.
The more reviews I get, the more encouraged I am to push on. Please R+R, and I will continue these chapters.
Final Fantasy IX:
The Future of the Past
Chapter One
The castle itself was still an amazing sight to see, but in the completely wrong meaning. All the rooks were at the base of the structure (which had once magnificently stood on all corners). Bricks lay around in a five hundred fot radius, blackened by a clue of a once-burning fire. Only forty feet, at the peak of the highest wall still standing, was the memorial of an incident which no one wished to have memories of.
The thing that amazed them most (and once again, a terrible memory) was the beautiful silver blade, much like that of a giant sword's, that once was embedded in the center of the castle, the foundation of the structure, the people, and the nation. It now was flat on the ground, broken in two, the silver reflection of anything now gone. Dirt and mud covered the wonderous sword that the people were once proud of.
Now, only stones, fallen buildings, long-dead corpses, and the memories of Alexandria existed within the city.
To his right was the sea, sparkling against the shining sun, which was high in the sky. It was clean, fresh, and was unknowing about the destruction that had befallen the city near it.
To his left was the city of Lindblum. It still stood, but in a different manner than it had once. People roamed the streets in search of food, dozens dying each day. Street gangs, beggars, muggers, prostitutes, and rebels made the roads hard to travel around. At least three dozen buildings were burned each day by rebellious, evil groups that hated the leaders of the once-great city.
And ahead was something he would never forget coming down, which had only happened recently. Constructionists had made a large opening in the thick, vast stone separation that used to break the continent into three main parts. Now there were only thin, tall columns that had been hollowed out and turned into buildings. There were four still standing, but one wasn't being used (at least, not legally).
"Let's go home," he told his family. That was in Lindblum, on a city street. It was very dangerous, but being a poor family, it was all they could afford. He and his wife were on a chocobo, and his oldest son and two daughters were on the second, his son guiding it.
He was taller than most people on the continent (seven feet), and very bulky. His pig-type nose and tall ears made him fairly distinct from others, also. A white shirt (too small for him to actually wear) and a brown vest with aqua green pants and a loose brown belt covered his furry, muscular body. He wore boots with turned-down lips, gloves with large, metallic rigs around the edges and a pilot's cap. Two beady, green and black eyes quickly moved around inside the goggles.
Baku pulled the reins of his chocobo, named Ptera, and it "squeed" under the pressure. It ran at full speed towards the city of Lindblum, and the younger female chocobo named Candy (chosen by their youngest daughter) followed the older male Prix.
He remembered growing up in the city for a few years, running and playing through the streets like it was nothing. It wasn't. Now, it was really a danger for a person to go out unarmed. Everyone now carried swords, spears, lances, axes, you name it. Fires burned in barrels. His children were often frightened by people who were dememented, rocking back and forth on benches, shouting, screaming, and spitting at anyone that walked by.
Everyone in the town hated each other. It was nothing like what it was destined to be, a rich, great city of royalty, clean and pure in power and heart. They were at each other's throats, all people constantly at war (socially, if not physically). One could not walk through a street without seeing a fight break out between people for various reasons.
He guided the family of five into a small wooden door built into the side of a building, and instantly shut and locked it. Break-ins were very common, too. Usually they ended in murder, or at least killing, one way or the other. The victims were actually often the winners in the fight for their life.
Nothing like it used to be.
"Dad," he asked, standing and looking out the window, "Someone's being broken in on." Baku came to the window. Sure enough, like Kcerr, his son, had said, three men were already running from a house, and the local official were rushing to the scene on plated chocobos.
Thunder shook the ground as the first few drops of rain were beginning to hit the ground. "...Why did this stuff start happening?" Kcerr asked. "When?" Baku sighed as he prepared to tell his son how it began.
"I was much younger, then. My hair was red, not gray. My weapon was polished, not cracked. And the great city of Alexandria once stood as the greatest nation in the history of Gaia..."
Buildings lay in peices, vines growing around their bases and working their way up the walls, and curving down the other side through a ceilingless top.
"The buildings were wonderful. They ranged from huts to mansions. Not a single hole in any wall was seen."
Skeletons of people and animals are everywhere. Parts of bones are scattered through the destroyed streets.
"People of the city were amazing. They had many skills, and there was hardly any crime. The streets thrived with living, breathing people."
The castle is torn open, the floor exposed to the gentle rain now pattering around on the marble floors...where there is still flooring. The muddy foundation pushes up through crackes and holes. Bugs, snakes, and all wildlife inhabit the rooms which once held many kings, queens, princes, and princesses. The theater is punched through by trees, creating a natural stage. The main hallway is torn open, the ceiling gone, but the sky blocked by a green canvas of leaves from trees standing hundreds of feet high. The main gate now lay in the moat, soggy and warped. It was Alexandria...
In the center of all attention was a main coach. It was made of special, rare and beautiful wood, lined with pure gold. On top, in solid crytal seats, were King Zidane Tribal and Queen Garnet Tribal. They were married just hours ago, and were waving to people. Holding hands with the free sides, they smiled and laughed with everyone else.
"It was a moment I would never forget. They must have been the happiest couple I've ever seen in my entire life. I've never seen Zidane smile much bigger than he had been right then. I remember...I was standing..."
Baku stood in the Northwestern Rook, watching the entire parade. From a modified telescope, he could see the two on top of the coach. It was hard to see anything, though, for all the streamers. He didn't see a single person frowning, except one...
"...Oh...a party pooper." The man frowning was fairly old. He was fairly tall, and had a blood spot on his right arm.
"Let me look, Baku," said Cinna, behind him. Cinna was shorter than most of the team. He wore a metal hat similar to that of a chef's, and brown shoulderpads. Brown cuffs, shorts, and boots decorated the rest of his body, and a short metal hammer was strapped to his back.
Nmi was there, too. His real name was Atrogghus Bersobin, but everyone called him Nmi, for some reason. He was a strong man that wore a blue uniform, like Terigan, who was beside him. The only difference was that he had long, black hair and a mustache. One would almost think that they were brothers...which was true. Terigan and Nmi had grown up together in Alexandria, and took the place of Generals Steiner and Beatrix when they were married, and moved to Lindblum.
Baku stepped backwards, and let Cinna peer through the telescope. The rest of Tantalus was there, too, not including Terigan and Nmi, leaders of the Army of Alexandria. He was like a family member to them all, also. It was the greatest day of Zidane's life, and they had to be there for him. They were his brothers, his family. As he had once said, after being injured very badly and saved by Marcus, "You guys are my brothers, and nothing stops that."
One thing stopped it for Baku, though. It stopped it for Tantalus.
"What was it?" Kcerr asked. His beautiful but aging wife named Ptree leaned forward, listening intently between their conversation.
Almost three years after their marriage, Zidane claimed that he was taking Garnet to another continent for a short vacation. He didn't tell anyone except Baku where, fearing that crowds might follow him. Then it wouldn't be a vacation at all.
Then it happened.
The Alexandrian army turned on itself, and began to attack the city from within.
The orders, announced by the army leader, Terigan, after the attack, were given by a short young man with a tail.
A short young man with a tail named Zidane, by mail.
Alexandria would never revive from the attack, and Baku insisted that the Tantalus brothers help rebuild the city. The only looked at him in complete dissapointment, and all went off their own ways.
Tantalus was his family as much as it was Zidane's. Marcus, with the red cloth covering his eyes, was an expert thief, as the rest of them. He was one of Baku's favorites to use in sneaking missions. Cinna was the "artillery" of the group. His heavy, short body was excellent for barelling right through a horde of soldiers. Blank, like Marcus, always had a bandanna pulled over his eyes, but he seemed to see everything around him. He was a very animated character, a likeable pickpocket.
Now they were nothing, caused by Zidane.... Now Baku felt a new emotion against his friend that he had never felt before. He, over the years, had learned to live with it, but hated the impish leader from then on. How could he have done that? What was the reason? What in the world could cause him to attack the entire city, full of innocent people? It wasn't something he would do...
Terigan had come to him eight months later, expressing his deepest apologies for the man. Terigan always wore a blue uniform, and was a very skilled left-handed swordfighter. His long beard reached down to his chest, almost white. He would have looked like Santa Claus if he didn't always wear a cold, expressionless face.
There was a knocking on Baku's door, in Lindblum, almost ten years earlier. It was metal gloves against a thin wooden door. He opened it, and saw Terigan. The man hadn't changed, as he had not since he had been known to anyone. Lindblum was then a clean city, pure and just, like Alexandria had once been...
"Come in," invited Baku. He shut the door behind Terigan. The man sat down at a table. There was hardly any furniture, only a bed, lampstand, table, sink, and toilet in one room. He wasn't married yet, apparently.
"I came..." Terigan sighed, then continued. "I came to tell you how sorry I am about Alexandria."
"It's a little bit late for that. A little eights months too late. Besides, it wasn't your fault."
"I know, bu it is all I can do. Here, my main reason was to give you this." Terigan reached into a pocket in his dark blue uniform, and pulled out a yellow, dirty, aged envelopethat was still sealed. He handed it to Baku. Baku amost tore it in half trying to open it as the soldier handed him an envelope opener. He pulled out a letter, stiff and hard to open because it had apparently been in water:
"Baku - I am sorry about Alexandria. I truly never left the continent, just created a diversion to go to the Northern Beach. I must speak with you soon. I did not cause the destruction of Alexandria. I wish I did know, so I could find him and give him the slowest death possible. Only a coward would do something like that. Why would they do it in the first place? There are no existing rebellions against Alexandria, are there? I am very sorry, once again, but I did not cause this. Now I cannot talk to anyone publicly about anything until things have lightened up. I fear death may come to me if I happen to find an enraged victim. I wish to speak with you as soon as possible, but cannot at the moment. I will let you know the moment I am free from this accusement, and we shall talk. - Zidane Tribal
PS - Garnet is safe with me, and she says she wants to stay by my side until things clear up."
"Once again...I...am truly-" began Terigan.
"How did you get this?" asked Baku, looking up at him.
"I found it stuck in my door as I came to my apartment. Another letter told me to give it to you without reading it."
"...When was this?"
"A week ago. It's a week's journey from Alexandria, you know that." Terigan stood.
Baku looked down to the letter.
"...I truly never left the continent." He was never gone?
"I can't believe Zidane would pull a stunt like this," said Terigan. "I truly wish I knew why. He was one of my best friends."
"He was my best friend," commented Baku, re-enveloping the letter.
"Zidane...we spent many high and low times together," said Terigan. "I don't know what changed him..."
He was Baku's brother. A member of Tantalus.
His own brother.
"So this Zidane guy destroyed the city?" asked Kcerr.
"Yes," answered Baku.
"And you still don't know why?" questioned Ptree.
"No."
"He never gave you another letter telling you where to meet him?"
"I haven't heard from him in ten years. He's probably on another continent, or dead altogether..."
"Don't talk like that," said Ptree, standing and walking over to him. "You'll eventually hear from him."
"I don't know," answered Baku. "I don't know if I want to hear from him." He looked out the window. The dim, dangerous streets were now drenched in rain and randomly illuminated by flashing lightning.
It was like the night Alexandria was destroyed.
He heard a knocking at the door at three in the morning. He quickly put on some clothes, and cracked open the door. He couldn't be too careful, for now was the perfect time to break in to someone's house. Rain was very heavy now, and blue-tinted lightning flashed behing a dark figure.
He lit a lamp, and brought it back to the door. He saw a man in a black cloak, soaking wet. His face was hidden by the tip of the hood, and he was very hard to see. The voice was deep and unrecognizeable.
"Hello," said the voice, very quietly. Baku noticed the man was slightly shorter then him.
"What do you want?" asked Baku, groggily. "It's three in the morning, and everyone's asleep. Is this important? I mean, can't it wait?"
"I think right now is the best time."
"Best time for what?"
"Is anyone awake?"
"Listen, who are you? I'll call the authorities-"
"That won't be necessary. Just meet me tomorrow, at twelve, in the bar across the street. Make sure no one is with you, or I will not be there..."
"Why?"
"If you think why is important, you will follow my instruction. Have no guards follow you, have no family members, no animals, no one. Just you, your clothes, and your weapon." He turned, and began to walk away.
"Wait, who are you?" asked Baku, now beginning to awaken.
"...You will see." The figure walked away. Only the outline of the poncho was seen through the spatters of drops against the person. Then Baku's heart jumped.
Through the rain, the last thing viewable was a small, fairly long shape...
...A tail.
CONTINUED IN CHAPTER TWO