Separation Anxiety
By FlowerPower1o1
A/N - Just out of curiosity, is anyone else getting the 'site experiencing overload' when they try to go to the Final Fantasy 9 story page? Because, geez, that is so irritating . . .
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Chapter 7 - The Town Theater Plays
Everybody slept long into the night, and when they awoke the next day, they found Vivi refreshed after his collapse at South Gate. They washed up, and were summoned to the Regent's chamber, where they ate breakfast.
After the breakfast dishes were cleared, Beatrix filled everyone in on what had happened at Dali, including its destruction. Amarant and Blank told Beatrix and Cid about the battle at South Gate, including the army of Black Waltzes and Vivi's incredible Trance ability.
When they were done, Cid stepped down from his throne and began pacing, his habit whenever he thought about a tricky problem. "Black Mages, Zidane being kidnapped . . . it's all adding up, isn't it?" the regent mused. "Kuja must have survived.
Amarant snorted. "I told Zidane he should have . . ."
"WE KNOW, AMARANT," everyone said.
Hilda stepped into the room, holding a piece of paper in her hand. "I actually have more bad news. We just got word from Steiner in Alexandria. Garnet has also disappeared - gone through her window sometime yesterday evening, either on her own or forced by another."
The wife of the regent received shocked looks from the entire room.
"Steiner called out the Knights of Pluto, but they were unable to find any trace of her," Hilda continued. "Steiner told us to be on the lookout for her or anyone that might have kidnapped her, and also gave us a complete inventory of things in her room, schedules of her tasks, times when she was seen during the day, in case we see anything that might hint toward how she disappeared."
"Who's to say she didn't kidnap Zidane?" Amarant said bluntly.
It was Amarant's turn to get the shocked looks.
Amarant sighed. "Don't tell me I'm the only one that's thinking it," he said. "Beatrix, you said it yourself. They tried to kill each other, and Garnet threatened to cut off his head if she found him again. Then they both disappear within hours of each other, while we're out here on a wild Garuda chase running all over Gaia after these clues. Who's to say that Zidane's not trapped inside Alexandria's private dungeons - getting royal treatment?"
Eiko shook her head. "In that case, why send a letter to Dagger at all? After all, all of the copies of the letter say the exact same thing - a copy was sent to the Tantalus hideout, Lindblum Grand Castle, Freya in Burmecia and Dagger in Alexandria."
"But if Dagger, or Garnet, whatever you want to call her, really wrote the letter, she would say that to throw suspicion off of her, wouldn't she?" Amarant countered.
Hilda glanced down at Steiner's letters. "Steiner didn't mention them finding a copy of the letter anywhere in the royal apartments," she said.
Eiko floundered for words. "But . . . Dagger wouldn't try and start another war!" she protested. "Why would she?"
"The war started last time because the Alexandrian Queen wanted to conquer the continent," Cid mused. "But Brahne was more corrupt than Garnet. I can't picture Garnet ever doing something like that."
"The factory at Dali!" Eiko said triumphantly. "All we need is some proof of the Black Mages being shipped to Alexandria to incriminate Dagger, right?"
"The factory is gone, though," Vivi said. "Buried underneath the remains of the town, remember?"
Beatrix paled.
"Something wrong, general?" Cid asked, noting the expression of the woman's face.
Beatrix stood up. "Before I say this, I want it clearly understood that I do not accuse the queen in any way, and that I am sworn to her and will protect her no matter what."
Everyone nodded.
Beatrix sat down again. "That being said . . . Queen Garnet ordered imports from Dali to Alexandria to be increased a little over a week ago."
Everyone went silent again.
Amarant snorted. "I told you she was a suspect."
Eiko turned around. "What about YOU, Amarant?" she almost screamed. "We all know you don't like Zidane, and you just HAPPENED to show up offering your help the day after he disappeared. How do we know that you didn't lock him away in some quiet place and then went to Alexandria to lead us all over the continent?"
Amarant laughed. "Since when have I had the skill to create Black Mages?"
"Since when have you made Dali a regular stop while you wander around the world?" Cid asked pointedly.
Amarant snapped around to look at the ruler. "What are you talking about?"
Cid went over to a dresser and pulled out a folder. "Lindblum Central Intelligence - my spy network," he said. "They keep track of most of the important people in the world. Minister Artania keeps them very well organized. I could tell you what the Mayor of Conde Petie had for breakfast, if you want. But what's most interesting is that you were reported being seen in Dali three times in the past month. Any reason why you'd want to visit a little frontier town?"
Amarant opened his mouth, and then closed it again. "I don't suppose you'd believe that I like the food they serve at their town shop?" he muttered.
"Listen," Blank spoke up. "We can't just run around pointing fingers at everybody. This isn't the Town Theater Plays; the bad guy in this isn't necessarily one of the ten or twelve people in the known cast. How do we know that some Burmecian guard with a flair for being evil didn't decide to try and conquer the continent - and new exactly where we'd be most vulnerable?"
"Blank got point," Quina said. "It be anyone, right?"
"The question is, how do we find out?" Vivi said. "We've already wasted one day, and we already had to fight a Black Waltz army, and a town was destroyed, and a couple of us almost died. And it's only going to get more difficult from hereon in."
"There you go, Vivi," Amarant muttered. "Give us a pep talk."
"Maybe there are others that have heard things?" Cid wondered. "Unfortunately, Lindblum Central Intelligence was caught by surprise by this - we never knew anything about the factory being operational again until yesterday during the attack. But there are others out there who hear things - Doctor Tot in Treno, Quale in the Qu Marshes, maybe someone in Daguerro?"
Beatrix shook her head.
iYour dreams will show you the way . . ./i
Beatrix suddenly remembered the dream she had had while unconscious aboard the Hilda Garde 4 yesterday - when she was back in Cleyra.
iWe are both alright, in a place devoid of light . . . Deep underground, where we will not be found . . ./i
"Beatrix? Are you okay?" Beatrix snapped out of her thoughts to see Eiko looking concernedly into her eyes.
"Oh . . . yes. Sorry, I just . . ." She hesitated, then told them about her dream.
Amarant snorted. Again. "We're actually going to use a dream as reference for finding Zidane?"
"In magic," Hilda said softly, "it is believed that dreams have power. They speak the truth.
That shut Amarant up.
"A place devoid of light? Underground?" Eiko said.
"And the letter said that Zidane would be hidden someplace along the path of the original quest six years ago," Blank said.
"Gargan Roo," Vivi said, thinking. "Fossil Roo. Mount Gulug. Gizamaluke's Grotto. Desert Palace. The Earth Shrine."
"The roots underneath the Iifa Tree," Amarant said. "You forgot about those."
Eiko shuddered. "That still gives me the creeps."
"And that was the last place we know Kuja was," Amarant said.
"We could divide our forces," Beatrix mused. "Send one person to each of the locations . . ."
"So we can get torn to shreds," Amarant said. "I know I could survive any of those places, and I'm pretty sure you could, Beatrix, but what about the others? We don't know what we're walking into."
"So we should stay on the path?" Blank said. "Where do we go next?"
Vivi tilted his head, thinking. "Zidane, Freya and I went to Gizamaluke's Grotto," he said. "We met Freya along the way. We ended up fighting Beatrix in Burmecia. Steiner and Dagger went to South Gate, met Marcus along the way, and went to Treno. They went through Gargan Roo to return to Alexandria."
"So we could either head back to where we started," Blank said, "or head closer to Burmecia."
"There really aren't a lot of places to hide in the basin where Burmecia is located," Cid said. "The only things over there are the Cleyra settlement where the tree used to be, and North Gate. We know both of those are uncontaminated, and our soldiers and messengers pass through the Grotto on a regular basis. They would have noticed anything out of the ordinary."
"So we go to Treno," Eiko said. "We should saddle up. Let's go get the Hilda Garde 4 ready for takeoff!"
"Unfortunately, daughter," Cid said sternly to the young White Mage, "you pushed the engines to the limits. The ship is being repaired right now, and I can't spare another airship."
"But FATHER!" Eiko started, but her adoptive mother cut her off. "You know your father is right, Eiko," Hilda said. "You're going to have to go to South Gate and take the cable cars to Treno."
"But it's so slow," Eiko grumbled.
"Well then, we better get moving!" Beatrix said, standing up. "The sooner we leave, the sooner we can find Zidane!"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Deep underground, where the only sounds were the crawling of gargants and the whispering of the earth, a large round figure chuckled as he looked in the surface of the glowing mirror. "I always like Town Theater Play," it chuckled. "They amuse. But not as much as Black Mages amuse."
Another, shorter figure, appeared in the darkness behind it. "I hope you're having fun with your new toy," the new figure hissed. "Spying on our friends, are we?"
The first figure turned away from the mirror, cursing. "Stupid cretins. I swallow them whole."
The shorter figure chuckled. "My word, what did you eat that gave you such a foul temper? Come on, our guest needs special treatment."
They both walked into another chamber. This one was lit by two torches fastened to the wall. Between the two torches, a beaten figure was chained to the wall, dangling by his wrists. His blond hair caught the torchlight with an orange glow, his tail hung limply, and his face was still bruised from his fight with these two individuals and their fighters.
Zidane looked up as the round figure and the short figure ambled into the room. "Why . . ." he croaked, his throat dry. "Why are you . . . doing this?"
"Quiet," the short figure snarled, taking one of the torches from the wall.
And then the torture began again.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: I live for suspense
A/N - Just out of curiosity, is anyone else getting the 'site experiencing overload' when they try to go to the Final Fantasy 9 story page? Because, geez, that is so irritating . . .
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter 7 - The Town Theater Plays
Everybody slept long into the night, and when they awoke the next day, they found Vivi refreshed after his collapse at South Gate. They washed up, and were summoned to the Regent's chamber, where they ate breakfast.
After the breakfast dishes were cleared, Beatrix filled everyone in on what had happened at Dali, including its destruction. Amarant and Blank told Beatrix and Cid about the battle at South Gate, including the army of Black Waltzes and Vivi's incredible Trance ability.
When they were done, Cid stepped down from his throne and began pacing, his habit whenever he thought about a tricky problem. "Black Mages, Zidane being kidnapped . . . it's all adding up, isn't it?" the regent mused. "Kuja must have survived.
Amarant snorted. "I told Zidane he should have . . ."
"WE KNOW, AMARANT," everyone said.
Hilda stepped into the room, holding a piece of paper in her hand. "I actually have more bad news. We just got word from Steiner in Alexandria. Garnet has also disappeared - gone through her window sometime yesterday evening, either on her own or forced by another."
The wife of the regent received shocked looks from the entire room.
"Steiner called out the Knights of Pluto, but they were unable to find any trace of her," Hilda continued. "Steiner told us to be on the lookout for her or anyone that might have kidnapped her, and also gave us a complete inventory of things in her room, schedules of her tasks, times when she was seen during the day, in case we see anything that might hint toward how she disappeared."
"Who's to say she didn't kidnap Zidane?" Amarant said bluntly.
It was Amarant's turn to get the shocked looks.
Amarant sighed. "Don't tell me I'm the only one that's thinking it," he said. "Beatrix, you said it yourself. They tried to kill each other, and Garnet threatened to cut off his head if she found him again. Then they both disappear within hours of each other, while we're out here on a wild Garuda chase running all over Gaia after these clues. Who's to say that Zidane's not trapped inside Alexandria's private dungeons - getting royal treatment?"
Eiko shook her head. "In that case, why send a letter to Dagger at all? After all, all of the copies of the letter say the exact same thing - a copy was sent to the Tantalus hideout, Lindblum Grand Castle, Freya in Burmecia and Dagger in Alexandria."
"But if Dagger, or Garnet, whatever you want to call her, really wrote the letter, she would say that to throw suspicion off of her, wouldn't she?" Amarant countered.
Hilda glanced down at Steiner's letters. "Steiner didn't mention them finding a copy of the letter anywhere in the royal apartments," she said.
Eiko floundered for words. "But . . . Dagger wouldn't try and start another war!" she protested. "Why would she?"
"The war started last time because the Alexandrian Queen wanted to conquer the continent," Cid mused. "But Brahne was more corrupt than Garnet. I can't picture Garnet ever doing something like that."
"The factory at Dali!" Eiko said triumphantly. "All we need is some proof of the Black Mages being shipped to Alexandria to incriminate Dagger, right?"
"The factory is gone, though," Vivi said. "Buried underneath the remains of the town, remember?"
Beatrix paled.
"Something wrong, general?" Cid asked, noting the expression of the woman's face.
Beatrix stood up. "Before I say this, I want it clearly understood that I do not accuse the queen in any way, and that I am sworn to her and will protect her no matter what."
Everyone nodded.
Beatrix sat down again. "That being said . . . Queen Garnet ordered imports from Dali to Alexandria to be increased a little over a week ago."
Everyone went silent again.
Amarant snorted. "I told you she was a suspect."
Eiko turned around. "What about YOU, Amarant?" she almost screamed. "We all know you don't like Zidane, and you just HAPPENED to show up offering your help the day after he disappeared. How do we know that you didn't lock him away in some quiet place and then went to Alexandria to lead us all over the continent?"
Amarant laughed. "Since when have I had the skill to create Black Mages?"
"Since when have you made Dali a regular stop while you wander around the world?" Cid asked pointedly.
Amarant snapped around to look at the ruler. "What are you talking about?"
Cid went over to a dresser and pulled out a folder. "Lindblum Central Intelligence - my spy network," he said. "They keep track of most of the important people in the world. Minister Artania keeps them very well organized. I could tell you what the Mayor of Conde Petie had for breakfast, if you want. But what's most interesting is that you were reported being seen in Dali three times in the past month. Any reason why you'd want to visit a little frontier town?"
Amarant opened his mouth, and then closed it again. "I don't suppose you'd believe that I like the food they serve at their town shop?" he muttered.
"Listen," Blank spoke up. "We can't just run around pointing fingers at everybody. This isn't the Town Theater Plays; the bad guy in this isn't necessarily one of the ten or twelve people in the known cast. How do we know that some Burmecian guard with a flair for being evil didn't decide to try and conquer the continent - and new exactly where we'd be most vulnerable?"
"Blank got point," Quina said. "It be anyone, right?"
"The question is, how do we find out?" Vivi said. "We've already wasted one day, and we already had to fight a Black Waltz army, and a town was destroyed, and a couple of us almost died. And it's only going to get more difficult from hereon in."
"There you go, Vivi," Amarant muttered. "Give us a pep talk."
"Maybe there are others that have heard things?" Cid wondered. "Unfortunately, Lindblum Central Intelligence was caught by surprise by this - we never knew anything about the factory being operational again until yesterday during the attack. But there are others out there who hear things - Doctor Tot in Treno, Quale in the Qu Marshes, maybe someone in Daguerro?"
Beatrix shook her head.
iYour dreams will show you the way . . ./i
Beatrix suddenly remembered the dream she had had while unconscious aboard the Hilda Garde 4 yesterday - when she was back in Cleyra.
iWe are both alright, in a place devoid of light . . . Deep underground, where we will not be found . . ./i
"Beatrix? Are you okay?" Beatrix snapped out of her thoughts to see Eiko looking concernedly into her eyes.
"Oh . . . yes. Sorry, I just . . ." She hesitated, then told them about her dream.
Amarant snorted. Again. "We're actually going to use a dream as reference for finding Zidane?"
"In magic," Hilda said softly, "it is believed that dreams have power. They speak the truth.
That shut Amarant up.
"A place devoid of light? Underground?" Eiko said.
"And the letter said that Zidane would be hidden someplace along the path of the original quest six years ago," Blank said.
"Gargan Roo," Vivi said, thinking. "Fossil Roo. Mount Gulug. Gizamaluke's Grotto. Desert Palace. The Earth Shrine."
"The roots underneath the Iifa Tree," Amarant said. "You forgot about those."
Eiko shuddered. "That still gives me the creeps."
"And that was the last place we know Kuja was," Amarant said.
"We could divide our forces," Beatrix mused. "Send one person to each of the locations . . ."
"So we can get torn to shreds," Amarant said. "I know I could survive any of those places, and I'm pretty sure you could, Beatrix, but what about the others? We don't know what we're walking into."
"So we should stay on the path?" Blank said. "Where do we go next?"
Vivi tilted his head, thinking. "Zidane, Freya and I went to Gizamaluke's Grotto," he said. "We met Freya along the way. We ended up fighting Beatrix in Burmecia. Steiner and Dagger went to South Gate, met Marcus along the way, and went to Treno. They went through Gargan Roo to return to Alexandria."
"So we could either head back to where we started," Blank said, "or head closer to Burmecia."
"There really aren't a lot of places to hide in the basin where Burmecia is located," Cid said. "The only things over there are the Cleyra settlement where the tree used to be, and North Gate. We know both of those are uncontaminated, and our soldiers and messengers pass through the Grotto on a regular basis. They would have noticed anything out of the ordinary."
"So we go to Treno," Eiko said. "We should saddle up. Let's go get the Hilda Garde 4 ready for takeoff!"
"Unfortunately, daughter," Cid said sternly to the young White Mage, "you pushed the engines to the limits. The ship is being repaired right now, and I can't spare another airship."
"But FATHER!" Eiko started, but her adoptive mother cut her off. "You know your father is right, Eiko," Hilda said. "You're going to have to go to South Gate and take the cable cars to Treno."
"But it's so slow," Eiko grumbled.
"Well then, we better get moving!" Beatrix said, standing up. "The sooner we leave, the sooner we can find Zidane!"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Deep underground, where the only sounds were the crawling of gargants and the whispering of the earth, a large round figure chuckled as he looked in the surface of the glowing mirror. "I always like Town Theater Play," it chuckled. "They amuse. But not as much as Black Mages amuse."
Another, shorter figure, appeared in the darkness behind it. "I hope you're having fun with your new toy," the new figure hissed. "Spying on our friends, are we?"
The first figure turned away from the mirror, cursing. "Stupid cretins. I swallow them whole."
The shorter figure chuckled. "My word, what did you eat that gave you such a foul temper? Come on, our guest needs special treatment."
They both walked into another chamber. This one was lit by two torches fastened to the wall. Between the two torches, a beaten figure was chained to the wall, dangling by his wrists. His blond hair caught the torchlight with an orange glow, his tail hung limply, and his face was still bruised from his fight with these two individuals and their fighters.
Zidane looked up as the round figure and the short figure ambled into the room. "Why . . ." he croaked, his throat dry. "Why are you . . . doing this?"
"Quiet," the short figure snarled, taking one of the torches from the wall.
And then the torture began again.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: I live for suspense
