A Voice from the Past
by Jojo
Whoo-hoo! Got Chapter One in! :D
-------------------------------------
Chapter One
"All hail to Queen Garnet and Prince Zidane!"
Even amidst all the cheers of roaring crowd, the voice of Captain Adelbert Steiner, leader of the Knights of Pluto, could still be heard loud and clearly enough for everyone to hear. 'How does Dagger get used to that?!' Zidane thought, rubbing his ears. But otherwise, he couldn't complain about anything else with the coronation. Standing at the balcony overlooking the rest of Alexandria castle town, Queen Dagger and the newly-coronated Prince Zidane were waving and greeting the loyal subjects of Alexandria. He couldn't feel any happier - Zidane's title of Prince not only made him eligible for Princess Garnet's hand in marriage, but it also gave him freedom to come and go as he pleased, if he ever neededd to refresh himself with the freedoms of the outdoors. Of course, he'd never want to leave Dagger's side, not after those 8 months without her... 'Although,' he thought, smiled at Garnet, 'if I ever do need a breather from the castle, I could always bring a certain, royal companion with me. I've done it once before, haven't I?'
A flashback played in his mind, to the day he first met Dagger...the botched kidnapping attempt...the swinging from tower to airship...the exilhiration they'd both felt during the game of Cat-and-Mouse...the idioticity of Steiner when he failed to notice the monster Bomb behind him...and the way he screamed... Zidane chuckled to himself at that thought.
"What's so funny, Zidane?" Dagger asked, inquiringly.
"I wonder if Rusty's could scream any louder if we placed another Bomb behind him.." Zidane said, still reliving Steiner's high-pitched scream.
Dagger smacked him upside the head playfully, chuckling at the thought as well. The memories of the past were happy ones, but nevertheless, she had to let them go. If she were to be a successful ruler of her people, she had to get those sad thoughts out of her head, for every thought, every memory of the past reminded her of poor Vivi. She shook her head determinedly, and took Zidane's hand.
"Zidane, let's go inside...your coronation party's most likely begun downstairs, and you know how those nobles get if we're late," Dagger said, dragging him inside.
"Alrighty then, let's go, shall we?" Zidane said, smiling one of his infamous mischief smiles.
"Zidane...whatever you're planning....don't even--YEEAAAGGH!! PUT ME DOWN!" Dagger exclaimed, for Zidane had picked the opportunity to pick up Dagger by the side with one arm.
"It'll be faster this way, after all, we're getting late, are we not?" Zidane mocked jokingly.
"Zidane!"
"Alright, alright..." Zidane placed the princess down, and was greeted by a cold, hard stare that quickly broke into a wide, grinning smile. Embracing Zidane, who was very taken aback by this sudden action, Dagger quickly took hold of Zidane's tail and tugged him rather forcefully.
"YEOW! Dagger!!"
"Let's go, you little rascal." Dagger said, still grinning. Zidane's yelps of pain could still be heard from the upstairs.
-------------------------------------------------
While Zidane and Dagger were having a merry time at Alexandria Castle, Amarant Coral* and Lani* were investigating a series of events taking place on the Outer Continent, north of the Mist Continent housing Alexandria. The dwarf people of the mountaintop village, Condie Petie, were reporting strange events occuring at the Iifa tree, the very thing that almost caused the destruction of Gaia...it seemed that pinkish lights were seen flying towards it, some from the direction of the Black Mage Village, others from the direction of the Mist Continent for reasons unknown. Also strange was a report of voices and flashes from the jewels of Madain Sari's Eidolon Wall. Madain Sari was a former village of summoners of powerful beings called Eidolons, but was destroyed as a casualty of war. Its only occupants were a family of Moogles, fairy creatures with the bodies of cats topped with a pom-pom on their heads.
"This sucks. We can't even get CLOSE to that damned tree 'cause of that barrier!" Lani said, frustrated. She had spent the last thirty minutes zapping herself on the magic barrier surrounding the tree, trying to get in with no avail.
"Then we go to the next best place to search..." Amarant replied, gruffly.
"Where's this?"
"You should know. You've been living there for three months," Amarant said, giving her a look. He knew what'd come next...
"We're going to see the Moogles again?!!" Lani exclaimed, squealing. Amarant covered his ears to protect them from permanent damage.
"Lani, squeal one more time and I'm gonna leave you were you stand," Amarant grumpily said.
"I know, I know, I'm sorry...but I haven't seen them in-"
"-5 months, you've told me already. Now hush up and GET DOWN!" Amarant screamed suddenly, knocking her to the ground.
"What the hell are you doing, you big oaf?!"
But before Lani could add anything else to scream, two piercing blades flashed above their heads, almost grazing them. Looking where the attacks had come from, Amarant and Lani found their eyes placed on not one, but two Abadons, winged, bug monsters after one thing - blood. Screeching loudly, the two bugs launched themselves to attack.
"Heh, figured it wouldn't be easy. Lani, you ready?" Amarant asked, brandishing iron knuckles and his throwing discs.
"You bet...my axe has been growing hungry for some fresh meat..." Lani said, swinging her oversized battleaxe threateningly.
The two charged, all pretense forgotten. The battle exhilirated and gave them a certain kind of rush not found anywhere else. It had been so long since they had a real battle..
But even with the fight going on, Amarant couldn't help wondering. The last, as well as only time they fought Abadons, they were in an alternate dimension, Pandemonium. What were they doing here?
Amarant shook the thought off from his head. There were more important matters now. He could deal with trivial facts later.
---------------------------
In Madain Sari...
Twelve multicolored lights shone from twelve different pedestals, each under the picture of a particular Eidolon. Each held various crystals - one had Peridots; another had Opals; a third, Topazes; fourth, Amethyst; another, Aquamarine; even another, a Garnet; one, a Pumice; another, a crystal encased in Dark Matter; one pedestal had a Sapphire and a bottle filled with a sweet-smelling liquid, another had Rubies, Emeralds, Moonstones, and Diamonds in a mix, another had a Pinion from the legendary Pheonix, and a final one, oddly enough, had not a crystal, but a ribbon.
The moogles who'd seen the flashes approached cautiously, mainly because a barrier protected the jewels from being stolen, and they did not want to be zapped. Suddenly, they heard voices, each one saying and repeating the same thing, in sync, as if droning a gloomy chorus:
"It is coming.
The Eidolon is coming.
It is coming.
The Black is coming.
It is coming.
It must be stopped.
It is coming.
Its powers will destroy this world..."
"What's going on, kupo?" a small moogle asked his big brother.
"I don't know, kupo...but it doesn't look goo-"
All of a sudden, without warning, the voices uttered a final verse:
"We must protect..."
And with those final words, a blast erupted from the center of the Eidolon Wall, knocking away some of the Moogles who were close. The lights emanating from the crystals began to intermingle with each other, their energies gathering. With a final eruption and earthquake, the lights exploded in a beam so bright, and so huge, it enveloped the entire ruin. Before long, the pillar of light had completely surrounded Madain Sari, extending into the infinite reaches of the sky...
In Alexandria Castle, Dagger collapsed on the floor, with Zidane picking her up and screaming her name. Around the world, various young children were going into strange trances, uttering the same haunting song that was heard in the ruins of Madain Sari...
-----------------------------------
Amarant Coral is a shadowy, red-dreadlocked haired man who became a teammate of Zidane's, due to some unexpected twist of events.
Lani is a disgraced axe-wielding bounty hunter who turned partner and friend of Amarant.
End of Chapter 1
------------------------------
Is this a cliffhanger? It is a cliffhanger! Nani?
Anyway, I'll get Chapter 3 up soon...thanks for reading so far! ^^;
by Jojo
Whoo-hoo! Got Chapter One in! :D
-------------------------------------
Chapter One
"All hail to Queen Garnet and Prince Zidane!"
Even amidst all the cheers of roaring crowd, the voice of Captain Adelbert Steiner, leader of the Knights of Pluto, could still be heard loud and clearly enough for everyone to hear. 'How does Dagger get used to that?!' Zidane thought, rubbing his ears. But otherwise, he couldn't complain about anything else with the coronation. Standing at the balcony overlooking the rest of Alexandria castle town, Queen Dagger and the newly-coronated Prince Zidane were waving and greeting the loyal subjects of Alexandria. He couldn't feel any happier - Zidane's title of Prince not only made him eligible for Princess Garnet's hand in marriage, but it also gave him freedom to come and go as he pleased, if he ever neededd to refresh himself with the freedoms of the outdoors. Of course, he'd never want to leave Dagger's side, not after those 8 months without her... 'Although,' he thought, smiled at Garnet, 'if I ever do need a breather from the castle, I could always bring a certain, royal companion with me. I've done it once before, haven't I?'
A flashback played in his mind, to the day he first met Dagger...the botched kidnapping attempt...the swinging from tower to airship...the exilhiration they'd both felt during the game of Cat-and-Mouse...the idioticity of Steiner when he failed to notice the monster Bomb behind him...and the way he screamed... Zidane chuckled to himself at that thought.
"What's so funny, Zidane?" Dagger asked, inquiringly.
"I wonder if Rusty's could scream any louder if we placed another Bomb behind him.." Zidane said, still reliving Steiner's high-pitched scream.
Dagger smacked him upside the head playfully, chuckling at the thought as well. The memories of the past were happy ones, but nevertheless, she had to let them go. If she were to be a successful ruler of her people, she had to get those sad thoughts out of her head, for every thought, every memory of the past reminded her of poor Vivi. She shook her head determinedly, and took Zidane's hand.
"Zidane, let's go inside...your coronation party's most likely begun downstairs, and you know how those nobles get if we're late," Dagger said, dragging him inside.
"Alrighty then, let's go, shall we?" Zidane said, smiling one of his infamous mischief smiles.
"Zidane...whatever you're planning....don't even--YEEAAAGGH!! PUT ME DOWN!" Dagger exclaimed, for Zidane had picked the opportunity to pick up Dagger by the side with one arm.
"It'll be faster this way, after all, we're getting late, are we not?" Zidane mocked jokingly.
"Zidane!"
"Alright, alright..." Zidane placed the princess down, and was greeted by a cold, hard stare that quickly broke into a wide, grinning smile. Embracing Zidane, who was very taken aback by this sudden action, Dagger quickly took hold of Zidane's tail and tugged him rather forcefully.
"YEOW! Dagger!!"
"Let's go, you little rascal." Dagger said, still grinning. Zidane's yelps of pain could still be heard from the upstairs.
-------------------------------------------------
While Zidane and Dagger were having a merry time at Alexandria Castle, Amarant Coral* and Lani* were investigating a series of events taking place on the Outer Continent, north of the Mist Continent housing Alexandria. The dwarf people of the mountaintop village, Condie Petie, were reporting strange events occuring at the Iifa tree, the very thing that almost caused the destruction of Gaia...it seemed that pinkish lights were seen flying towards it, some from the direction of the Black Mage Village, others from the direction of the Mist Continent for reasons unknown. Also strange was a report of voices and flashes from the jewels of Madain Sari's Eidolon Wall. Madain Sari was a former village of summoners of powerful beings called Eidolons, but was destroyed as a casualty of war. Its only occupants were a family of Moogles, fairy creatures with the bodies of cats topped with a pom-pom on their heads.
"This sucks. We can't even get CLOSE to that damned tree 'cause of that barrier!" Lani said, frustrated. She had spent the last thirty minutes zapping herself on the magic barrier surrounding the tree, trying to get in with no avail.
"Then we go to the next best place to search..." Amarant replied, gruffly.
"Where's this?"
"You should know. You've been living there for three months," Amarant said, giving her a look. He knew what'd come next...
"We're going to see the Moogles again?!!" Lani exclaimed, squealing. Amarant covered his ears to protect them from permanent damage.
"Lani, squeal one more time and I'm gonna leave you were you stand," Amarant grumpily said.
"I know, I know, I'm sorry...but I haven't seen them in-"
"-5 months, you've told me already. Now hush up and GET DOWN!" Amarant screamed suddenly, knocking her to the ground.
"What the hell are you doing, you big oaf?!"
But before Lani could add anything else to scream, two piercing blades flashed above their heads, almost grazing them. Looking where the attacks had come from, Amarant and Lani found their eyes placed on not one, but two Abadons, winged, bug monsters after one thing - blood. Screeching loudly, the two bugs launched themselves to attack.
"Heh, figured it wouldn't be easy. Lani, you ready?" Amarant asked, brandishing iron knuckles and his throwing discs.
"You bet...my axe has been growing hungry for some fresh meat..." Lani said, swinging her oversized battleaxe threateningly.
The two charged, all pretense forgotten. The battle exhilirated and gave them a certain kind of rush not found anywhere else. It had been so long since they had a real battle..
But even with the fight going on, Amarant couldn't help wondering. The last, as well as only time they fought Abadons, they were in an alternate dimension, Pandemonium. What were they doing here?
Amarant shook the thought off from his head. There were more important matters now. He could deal with trivial facts later.
---------------------------
In Madain Sari...
Twelve multicolored lights shone from twelve different pedestals, each under the picture of a particular Eidolon. Each held various crystals - one had Peridots; another had Opals; a third, Topazes; fourth, Amethyst; another, Aquamarine; even another, a Garnet; one, a Pumice; another, a crystal encased in Dark Matter; one pedestal had a Sapphire and a bottle filled with a sweet-smelling liquid, another had Rubies, Emeralds, Moonstones, and Diamonds in a mix, another had a Pinion from the legendary Pheonix, and a final one, oddly enough, had not a crystal, but a ribbon.
The moogles who'd seen the flashes approached cautiously, mainly because a barrier protected the jewels from being stolen, and they did not want to be zapped. Suddenly, they heard voices, each one saying and repeating the same thing, in sync, as if droning a gloomy chorus:
"It is coming.
The Eidolon is coming.
It is coming.
The Black is coming.
It is coming.
It must be stopped.
It is coming.
Its powers will destroy this world..."
"What's going on, kupo?" a small moogle asked his big brother.
"I don't know, kupo...but it doesn't look goo-"
All of a sudden, without warning, the voices uttered a final verse:
"We must protect..."
And with those final words, a blast erupted from the center of the Eidolon Wall, knocking away some of the Moogles who were close. The lights emanating from the crystals began to intermingle with each other, their energies gathering. With a final eruption and earthquake, the lights exploded in a beam so bright, and so huge, it enveloped the entire ruin. Before long, the pillar of light had completely surrounded Madain Sari, extending into the infinite reaches of the sky...
In Alexandria Castle, Dagger collapsed on the floor, with Zidane picking her up and screaming her name. Around the world, various young children were going into strange trances, uttering the same haunting song that was heard in the ruins of Madain Sari...
-----------------------------------
Amarant Coral is a shadowy, red-dreadlocked haired man who became a teammate of Zidane's, due to some unexpected twist of events.
Lani is a disgraced axe-wielding bounty hunter who turned partner and friend of Amarant.
End of Chapter 1
------------------------------
Is this a cliffhanger? It is a cliffhanger! Nani?
Anyway, I'll get Chapter 3 up soon...thanks for reading so far! ^^;