Chapter Two

"Towards the Cavern of Ice"

by: Silver Nightingale

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy IX or any of its characters so please don't sue me.

AN: First of all, I'm terribly sorry that I only managed to update just now. Blame it all on school. School's been really busy so I apologize if I kept you guys waiting. Anyway, I hope that you would enjoy this chapter.

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He was standing at the edge of the land, looking at a bright blue light. He seemed to be at peace yet he knows that deep inside his heart, he feels a bit uneasy. He trudged forward in a slow pace, his mind clouded with thoughts.

"Can't you walk any faster?" a voice suddenly interrupted which made him focus more on their mission. He looked at the one who called him.

"I was just taking one last look. You know that we won't be able to come back here for a long time." He replied.

"You make it sound like it's such a bad thing."

"Well, isn't it?"

"No, it isn't." His companion stated in a rather blunt voice.

He knew better than to argue with him so he simply shrugged and let it pass. He started walking in a faster pace, yet his eyes showed that he was still deep in his chain of thoughts.

After a few minutes of silence, they arrived at the end of the strange world. A moment of calm, and then a shimmering displacement appeared before the two.

"Ah... at last..." His companion sighed. "I'm soon to step out of this wretched world..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Again, he shrugged. He studied the displacement which is clearly a portal out of their world. "So, once we step out of this portal we're supposed to carry out the mission..?"

An evil smile. "No, that is where you're completely wrong."

"Huh? What do you mean?" He asked as the person-in-question started to move closer to him and raise his hand up to his head.

"You really are innocent. You see, this mission does not need two in order to perform, oh no, it doesn't. It only needs one, the one who is more powerful. Do you know who that is?" Summoning his strength, he called for his powers and blasted his 'partner' before he even had time to react as he crumpled down the ground. "The stronger one is none other than me. Good night, Zidane."

"Kuja..." That was all that Zidane could manage to say before falling in the depths of darkness...

Gradually, light broke free from the dark...

Zidane's eyes fluttered open, his right hand reached instinctively to rub his aching head. His head was not aching from sleeping on the hay, nor was it aching because of the coldness of dawn. No... It was aching because of his dream. It was as if it was forcing him to remember something that he was supposed to do, yet at the same time it was making him forget about all those things. Zidane winced from the pain. [Why am I having these dreams? It doesn't make any sense]

But now that he really thinks about it, nothing seems to make sense. He doesn't even know where he's from. All that he could remember is a bright blue light from the edge of a land... the ocean, maybe? Who knows?

He doesn't even know how he got so high up a cliff. Did he come from below the mist and climbed all the way up with the aid of the frozen cavern? That could make sense. [Maybe I was from somewhere down there. I decided to explore for a little, entered the cavern to see where it's headed, and decided to camp out..? But that wouldn't make any sense, would it? Why is it that I can't seem to remember things? Why is it that I feel that something's not right... That I'm not from this world..? Woah! Where did that thought come from?]

He let his hand drop to his side and sat on a cross-legged position. He gazed at the horizon and viewed the sunrise. Slowly, its rays gently touched the sky, the clouds, and then the land. Flying above his head was a bird, which was singing her own little song. She seemed glad that the sun was shining. Zidane smiled and stood up.

The cavern...

Last night when he approached the cavern to see if it could serve as a temporary shelter, he drew back because it was freezing cold. But that alone wasn't the reason why he chose not to stay there. He felt as if it was... wrong... to go inside. Maybe if he goes there... maybe things will clear up? Maybe some of his questions would be answered if he entered that cavern… [But that's ridiculous! Why would going in a cavern make things better? How would it answer my questions?] But the idea was so weird that it may just work.

Zidane nodded to himself. [I made up my mind. I'm going in that cavern.] But then, he heard a terrible growling sound. [What was that?]

He looked around. There was no trace of any person nor wild animal. It was obviously still too early. He was about to let the matter pass but then he heard the noise again, this time louder. Zidane began to panic but then it hit him. He almost laughed out loud. It was his stomach that was producing the growling sound, demanding to be fed. He smiled wryly, "I wonder... When was the last time I ate...?" He mumbled softly, voicing out his thoughts. "Oh, well. I can't stay here, anyway. Might as well go to the cavern. Maybe I'll even find something to eat there or maybe I could even find something special."

That thought brightened him up. [Yeah, that's it! Maybe I can find something... I dunno... something nice and then I could sell it for some gil... whatever that is. Then, I could afford a place to stay and maybe even buy something to eat.]

He looked at the rising sun again, inhaled some fresh air, and walked out of the village towards the cavern of ice...

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AN: So how was it? Was it any good? Should I continue writing this fic? Kindly push that little button over yonder and leave the author a review and I promise that I'll update faster this time. Thanks for your time! ^_^