Disclaimer: Don't own FF9, why do you even bother anyways?!
Rhea Chryseis - Teehee, hope this chappie settles some things for ya! Awesomeness has to be the kewlest word EVER!
Dagger - Gomen, I'm sorry about confusion, but it seems to be my specialty! ^^ Actually, I have played FFs 6-10. . .numerous times actually. In FF10, I have managed to guide Rikku through the ENTIRE sphere grid, get all of the aeons, and complete all of the celestial weapons (not including Tidus', I hate racing chocobos there!)
And actually, Zidane does have green eyes. I have the book "The Art of Final Fantasy IX" for reference (yes, sad I know)
Eika - I read a bunch too, you should try "Arrows of the Queen" by Mercedes Lackey if you're into fantasy. It's excellent, AND had sequels ^^ Those are some of my favorites.
'Kay everybody, this chapter is OFFICIALLY dedicated to Rhea Chryseis and ~her~ awesomeness! Hope ya love it Rhea!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Maiaza recovered incredibly quickly, and oddly enough, rejuvenated. Her arms feebly pushed off even more random debris than before, finally ending in a little grunt.
She thought she heard coughing, but simply rolled her eyes to herself in disgust at her increasingly sad discovery of being delusional lately. The thick dust had still yet to clear, so she waved her hands in an attempt to avoid further contamination of her lungs. It did not take her long to realize it hardly made a difference in the vast unknown before her.
The faint glimmer of emerald was the first to catch her eyes. She slowly bent down to inspect it closer, brushing a bit of the seemingly alien substance onto the palm of her hand, and gasping in surprise as it quickly absorbed into her dilated pores.
/Potion!/ It's antics were unmistakable. /This must be what was inside that thing!/
Her eyes drew up, as she sensed the dust clearing through the corner of her eye, and jumped slightly at hearing another vicious round of coughing, and violent regurgitation. Surprised and somewhat alarmed at how real this 'imagining' seemed, she walked slowly and cautiously toward the humanoid sounds.
A hunching figure greeted her sight.
Maiaza whimpered back as the person was obviously busy being sick on the masked ground. Because of the mass of fluffy silver hair, she could not specify it's gender in her mind's eye, nor its age, but a feeling of overwhelming pity crept over her; someone was there, in the same unfavorable situation as she.
Potion was strewn in a thick puddle, widespread around the person. Finally, after a particularly nasty sounding gag, Maiaza cleared her throat to alert it of her presence.
A pale face tilted up to hers, incredibly green orbs fluctuated in confusion. The small lips parted slightly in a soundless 'oh', and the boy's overgrown hair sheltered him from anything, ~everything~; tangled and oddly vibrant in the faint moonlight.
The two of them stared at each other for a prolonging second, when Maiaza was the first to speak; "Who are you?"
He immediately looked down, causing her eyes widening at the sight of the thin clothing he wore. . .or lack thereof. Without a second thought, she slipped off the training pants, leaving only her soft, mu-skin under breeches and tossed the looser version to him. Her eyes averted, and he warily understood, putting them on with a breathless expression of thanks.
"I. . .don't know." He answered, a lovely, velvet-like voice ringing out, like the noonday bells.
Maiaza was extremely confused. "How could you ~not~ know your own name?"
He simply shook his head, hair floating out eerily at the small movement. "I don't remember."
"How did you get here?"
"I don't know."
She sighed on exasperation.
"Well, looks like we'll be stuck here for a while, then." Maiaza held out her hand, and hoisted the boy up from the ground. He wobbled a bit, but eventually recovered his footing.
A sharp intake of breath followed her second-long examination of the strange boy. He looked about her age, but his over-large eyes lacked experience, and his thin, bony body looked as though he had ever eaten anything in his life! She told him so, he only shrugged again.
"Who are you?" He asked quietly and unsurely.
"My name's Maiaza." She grinned, trying to bring a little more to the dully depressing conversation. But he did not see for his eyes were elsewhere, to the ground to be exact, eyebrows furrowed in thought.
A faint clatter seemed to sound in the distance.
"What was that!?" he was stiff in alertness now, obviously not as inexperienced as Maiaza previously suspected.
"Just a figment of my imagination." It was true too, or at least that was what she kept telling herself.
But, then again, she was only fooling herself. . .and obviously the boy as well.
~*CRASH*~
She instinctively pulled him in the opposite direction of the now severed wall, dreading what would surely appear next. This mini-explosion didn't set off nearly as much dust as the other two down there, but with a vicious roar that followed almost immediately, she wouldn't have minded it anyways.
It was an ugly thing; no visible eyes, shapeless body and rows upon rows of wicked, pointy teeth. They both held their breath as one, watching in terror as it struggled, breathing rapidly, and snorting off the remnants of mist through it's slitted nostrils.
To Maiaza's utter amazement and horror, the boy beside her spoke:
"Can it see us?"
The beast faced them immediately after the words escaped, and she felt the distinctive feeling of blood draining quickly out of her face.
"Guess it can now. . .RUN!" it roared again, and lunged at the two humans. Maiaza grabbed his cold arm, and wrenched him over with her, as she sprinted madly to the opening the beast had created.
They ran down a natural corridor.
"Why the ~hell~ didja just do that?!" she yelled over her shoulder angrily.
"I'm sorry!" he faltered "I didn't know--"
"Well don't you know anything?!" she spat. Maiaza had never been that frightened before, except possibly facing the Night Rose alone, but still! If that was a mist monster, it sure wasn't like the ones back home! Boy, that kid had a lot of nerve. . .
She jerked them both to a more open chamber, with him skidding satisfyingly into a wall. Despite the fact that they couldn't hear anything following them anymore, they ran as fast as they could, in any direction they could find. Maiaza wasn't the only one still freaked out by the close encounter.
Even his bare feet echoed through the gloomy passage, their uneven breaths making an odd rhythm with the footsteps. Their eyes burned from traveling through air unaccustomed to human presence.
"W-where are we going?" he managed to stammer out between breaths.
"Dunno." She answered shortly, still clinging to his bony arm tightly. The darkness shed a foreboding mood on the both of them, who could barely see where they were heading. "That must be coming from the outside though, I bet we can get out now." She felt too adrenaline hit to exclaim her excitement.
Then, quite suddenly, Maiaza's over-large feet failed her, as she tripped on an abruptly jutting rock.
"Oof!" she yelled, as the two of them toppled over one another, squinting their eyes tightly in mixed pain and a hope to prevent anymore. They stopped in a dizzy heap.
Her head pounded, as she rubbed it violently. That was certainly a rough fall, even by her standards.
A sleepy growl and vaguely moving shape was before her, when she realized just where the two of them had ended up. For the second time, a pregnant pause ensued between the two of them; hearing now, a great deal more growls than before.
/Oh no./
They both stumbled and scrambled back, blindly reaching for unfound barriers, and finally turning, still disbelieving of their dangerous luck in the deadly situation.
The two of them vaguely heard the numerous, overpowering roars as they ran. As fast as they could.
Faster than they had ever run before.
Maiaza's mood was beyond crying. Absolute horror took her to a purely instinctual stage, but she never let go of him. Only dragging him farther and farther into the seemingly endless void, fueled only with the reminder of the barbaric roars sounding from behind.
Relief shivered through her body as hope was conjured through the form of a dazzling dawn in an opening ahead. They continued sprinting, but the massive army of beasts behind them still trudged on. She refused to give into the temptation of looking back.
Then, as the boy had already been stumbling for the past forty feet or so, he took a headfirst plunge into the ground, taking Maiaza along with him.
She pushed, she drug, she screamed, but no matter what she did, he still wouldn't budge one bit. His face was buried in the ground, his limbs; shaking rapidly.
"Come on!" she yelled, still urging him to continue, but her antics seemed to go unnoticed. Time seemed to slow. . .
Maiaza wrenched her head back, pupils quickly shrinking in fear as she spotted hundreds of savage beasts coming closer and closer to her certain doom.
Fifty feet.
Images of life passed through her brain. How she had managed to survive so far was almost unbelievable, but there was no way she could escape now.
Forty feet.
She supposed. . .she just was never meant to be free.
Thirty feet.
She closed her stinging and tearing eyes tightly, automatically pushing salt water down her cheek.
Twenty feet.
Time was slowing even more now. Oh how she wished for anything to help her then. . ./Help us please. . ./
Ten feet.
An odd tugging sensation began around her shoulders, when it almost seemed as if she were floating dreamily. Maiaza still kept her eyes tightened shut.
::. . .I shall help, for a call is rare in these events' passing. . .::
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Oooooooh, the plot thickens eh? ^^ Unless I am very much mistaken, there aren't too many fanfics out there like this one, and I hope it ends up thoughtful and surprising for all of you. If you are eager to confirm any suspicions, I am terribly sorry but you must wait, though not for quite as long I think, because it's winter break!
Everybody should see Spirited Away and The Two Towers. NOW I TELL YOU!
Happy Holidays!
giggleplex (the happily obsessed one over certain bishies and of course, commas)
Rhea Chryseis - Teehee, hope this chappie settles some things for ya! Awesomeness has to be the kewlest word EVER!
Dagger - Gomen, I'm sorry about confusion, but it seems to be my specialty! ^^ Actually, I have played FFs 6-10. . .numerous times actually. In FF10, I have managed to guide Rikku through the ENTIRE sphere grid, get all of the aeons, and complete all of the celestial weapons (not including Tidus', I hate racing chocobos there!)
And actually, Zidane does have green eyes. I have the book "The Art of Final Fantasy IX" for reference (yes, sad I know)
Eika - I read a bunch too, you should try "Arrows of the Queen" by Mercedes Lackey if you're into fantasy. It's excellent, AND had sequels ^^ Those are some of my favorites.
'Kay everybody, this chapter is OFFICIALLY dedicated to Rhea Chryseis and ~her~ awesomeness! Hope ya love it Rhea!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Maiaza recovered incredibly quickly, and oddly enough, rejuvenated. Her arms feebly pushed off even more random debris than before, finally ending in a little grunt.
She thought she heard coughing, but simply rolled her eyes to herself in disgust at her increasingly sad discovery of being delusional lately. The thick dust had still yet to clear, so she waved her hands in an attempt to avoid further contamination of her lungs. It did not take her long to realize it hardly made a difference in the vast unknown before her.
The faint glimmer of emerald was the first to catch her eyes. She slowly bent down to inspect it closer, brushing a bit of the seemingly alien substance onto the palm of her hand, and gasping in surprise as it quickly absorbed into her dilated pores.
/Potion!/ It's antics were unmistakable. /This must be what was inside that thing!/
Her eyes drew up, as she sensed the dust clearing through the corner of her eye, and jumped slightly at hearing another vicious round of coughing, and violent regurgitation. Surprised and somewhat alarmed at how real this 'imagining' seemed, she walked slowly and cautiously toward the humanoid sounds.
A hunching figure greeted her sight.
Maiaza whimpered back as the person was obviously busy being sick on the masked ground. Because of the mass of fluffy silver hair, she could not specify it's gender in her mind's eye, nor its age, but a feeling of overwhelming pity crept over her; someone was there, in the same unfavorable situation as she.
Potion was strewn in a thick puddle, widespread around the person. Finally, after a particularly nasty sounding gag, Maiaza cleared her throat to alert it of her presence.
A pale face tilted up to hers, incredibly green orbs fluctuated in confusion. The small lips parted slightly in a soundless 'oh', and the boy's overgrown hair sheltered him from anything, ~everything~; tangled and oddly vibrant in the faint moonlight.
The two of them stared at each other for a prolonging second, when Maiaza was the first to speak; "Who are you?"
He immediately looked down, causing her eyes widening at the sight of the thin clothing he wore. . .or lack thereof. Without a second thought, she slipped off the training pants, leaving only her soft, mu-skin under breeches and tossed the looser version to him. Her eyes averted, and he warily understood, putting them on with a breathless expression of thanks.
"I. . .don't know." He answered, a lovely, velvet-like voice ringing out, like the noonday bells.
Maiaza was extremely confused. "How could you ~not~ know your own name?"
He simply shook his head, hair floating out eerily at the small movement. "I don't remember."
"How did you get here?"
"I don't know."
She sighed on exasperation.
"Well, looks like we'll be stuck here for a while, then." Maiaza held out her hand, and hoisted the boy up from the ground. He wobbled a bit, but eventually recovered his footing.
A sharp intake of breath followed her second-long examination of the strange boy. He looked about her age, but his over-large eyes lacked experience, and his thin, bony body looked as though he had ever eaten anything in his life! She told him so, he only shrugged again.
"Who are you?" He asked quietly and unsurely.
"My name's Maiaza." She grinned, trying to bring a little more to the dully depressing conversation. But he did not see for his eyes were elsewhere, to the ground to be exact, eyebrows furrowed in thought.
A faint clatter seemed to sound in the distance.
"What was that!?" he was stiff in alertness now, obviously not as inexperienced as Maiaza previously suspected.
"Just a figment of my imagination." It was true too, or at least that was what she kept telling herself.
But, then again, she was only fooling herself. . .and obviously the boy as well.
~*CRASH*~
She instinctively pulled him in the opposite direction of the now severed wall, dreading what would surely appear next. This mini-explosion didn't set off nearly as much dust as the other two down there, but with a vicious roar that followed almost immediately, she wouldn't have minded it anyways.
It was an ugly thing; no visible eyes, shapeless body and rows upon rows of wicked, pointy teeth. They both held their breath as one, watching in terror as it struggled, breathing rapidly, and snorting off the remnants of mist through it's slitted nostrils.
To Maiaza's utter amazement and horror, the boy beside her spoke:
"Can it see us?"
The beast faced them immediately after the words escaped, and she felt the distinctive feeling of blood draining quickly out of her face.
"Guess it can now. . .RUN!" it roared again, and lunged at the two humans. Maiaza grabbed his cold arm, and wrenched him over with her, as she sprinted madly to the opening the beast had created.
They ran down a natural corridor.
"Why the ~hell~ didja just do that?!" she yelled over her shoulder angrily.
"I'm sorry!" he faltered "I didn't know--"
"Well don't you know anything?!" she spat. Maiaza had never been that frightened before, except possibly facing the Night Rose alone, but still! If that was a mist monster, it sure wasn't like the ones back home! Boy, that kid had a lot of nerve. . .
She jerked them both to a more open chamber, with him skidding satisfyingly into a wall. Despite the fact that they couldn't hear anything following them anymore, they ran as fast as they could, in any direction they could find. Maiaza wasn't the only one still freaked out by the close encounter.
Even his bare feet echoed through the gloomy passage, their uneven breaths making an odd rhythm with the footsteps. Their eyes burned from traveling through air unaccustomed to human presence.
"W-where are we going?" he managed to stammer out between breaths.
"Dunno." She answered shortly, still clinging to his bony arm tightly. The darkness shed a foreboding mood on the both of them, who could barely see where they were heading. "That must be coming from the outside though, I bet we can get out now." She felt too adrenaline hit to exclaim her excitement.
Then, quite suddenly, Maiaza's over-large feet failed her, as she tripped on an abruptly jutting rock.
"Oof!" she yelled, as the two of them toppled over one another, squinting their eyes tightly in mixed pain and a hope to prevent anymore. They stopped in a dizzy heap.
Her head pounded, as she rubbed it violently. That was certainly a rough fall, even by her standards.
A sleepy growl and vaguely moving shape was before her, when she realized just where the two of them had ended up. For the second time, a pregnant pause ensued between the two of them; hearing now, a great deal more growls than before.
/Oh no./
They both stumbled and scrambled back, blindly reaching for unfound barriers, and finally turning, still disbelieving of their dangerous luck in the deadly situation.
The two of them vaguely heard the numerous, overpowering roars as they ran. As fast as they could.
Faster than they had ever run before.
Maiaza's mood was beyond crying. Absolute horror took her to a purely instinctual stage, but she never let go of him. Only dragging him farther and farther into the seemingly endless void, fueled only with the reminder of the barbaric roars sounding from behind.
Relief shivered through her body as hope was conjured through the form of a dazzling dawn in an opening ahead. They continued sprinting, but the massive army of beasts behind them still trudged on. She refused to give into the temptation of looking back.
Then, as the boy had already been stumbling for the past forty feet or so, he took a headfirst plunge into the ground, taking Maiaza along with him.
She pushed, she drug, she screamed, but no matter what she did, he still wouldn't budge one bit. His face was buried in the ground, his limbs; shaking rapidly.
"Come on!" she yelled, still urging him to continue, but her antics seemed to go unnoticed. Time seemed to slow. . .
Maiaza wrenched her head back, pupils quickly shrinking in fear as she spotted hundreds of savage beasts coming closer and closer to her certain doom.
Fifty feet.
Images of life passed through her brain. How she had managed to survive so far was almost unbelievable, but there was no way she could escape now.
Forty feet.
She supposed. . .she just was never meant to be free.
Thirty feet.
She closed her stinging and tearing eyes tightly, automatically pushing salt water down her cheek.
Twenty feet.
Time was slowing even more now. Oh how she wished for anything to help her then. . ./Help us please. . ./
Ten feet.
An odd tugging sensation began around her shoulders, when it almost seemed as if she were floating dreamily. Maiaza still kept her eyes tightened shut.
::. . .I shall help, for a call is rare in these events' passing. . .::
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Oooooooh, the plot thickens eh? ^^ Unless I am very much mistaken, there aren't too many fanfics out there like this one, and I hope it ends up thoughtful and surprising for all of you. If you are eager to confirm any suspicions, I am terribly sorry but you must wait, though not for quite as long I think, because it's winter break!
Everybody should see Spirited Away and The Two Towers. NOW I TELL YOU!
Happy Holidays!
giggleplex (the happily obsessed one over certain bishies and of course, commas)