I'm Coming Back to You
Chapter 12- Perpendicular
Disclaimer: Let's analyze this word, shall we? "Dis-" is a prefix meaning "separation", "negation", or "reversal". "Claim", our root word, has the definition of "to demand something as your rightful property". Finally, the suffix "-er" means "one that ____." Roughly, a Disclaimer is "one that is the reversal of a demand of something as your rightful property". So, a Final Fantasy IX Disclaimer is something that basically says, "This isn't mine." Confused? Rightfully so. ^.^
AN: Instead of jumping back to Zidane, we're gonna head back to Dagger!! Yeah, her part is starting to get interesting, too…
Key: _…_ emphasize (italicize)
/…/ thoughts
"…" words
*…* action
"You okay?"
I turned and smiled, but he could see that it was fake. It faded as fast as it had come. "No, not really…"
"Ya didn't seem up to it this morning, either."
"I know, Marcus…"
He frowned. "Don't like the clothes Ruby sent over?"
"No! No, it's not that. They're lovely. They're way better than the rags that I packed, and I really feel like I fit in."
"You still tired?"
"A little." The fact was I hadn't gotten that much sleep last night, due to my dream. I probably woke up at 4 or 5 in the morning until Cinna came in a few hours later, only to find me already awake, drenched with sweat, and shivering. I'd taken a nice warm shower and slipped on Ruby's clothes, but the memory of the dream haunted me.
Cinna had promised not to tell any of the gang, so they wouldn't get worried. Marcus didn't know and didn't understand, so all he said was, "Don't worry. Zidane'll be with us all before we know it!"
-0-0-0-0-0-
"Are you completely positive, General, that you don't wish to return to Alexandria?" Steiner was eyeing her bulging stomach. It wasn't particularly big, but if you knew she was pregnant, you'd notice. In fact, Beatrix had had to remove some of the tight armor that went around her front and waist to accommodate the slight swelling.
"Yes! I changed my mind about what I said. I want to be in the thick of the search. This is your Queen, as well as mine. Agh, I'm not even very late in the pregnancy, and I have to go with my stomach unguarded. Why don't they make maternity battle armor?"
"Beatrix, _you're_ the only person I know who'd wage a war while pregnant," Eiko said, leaning over the side of the Red Rose. "Hey, so where we headed?"
"I don't know, Master Tracker," Beatrix replied. "I thought you were the one who knew a summoner's thoughts. Anyway, we're heading for Alexandria, since we haven't gotten any orders from you yet."
Eiko twirled her Angel's Flute. "Let's see… If _I_ escaped from Lindblum to go looking for Zidane—assuming I was still madly in love with him—I would try to look for him where he started. Which is, of course, the Iifa Tree."
"We've already searched the Iifa Tree!" Steiner exploded. "The General and I have been there countless times—we have put up posters, signs, and talked to everyone. Surely he is not there!"
"_You_ and _Beatrix_ have been there, Mr. Rusty Pants, but Dagger hasn't. She's probably gonna make ABSOLUTE POSITIVE SURE that he's not there before moving on to somewhere else."
Steiner grunted at the nickname, but he'd gotten used to taking the brunt of it from Zidane. "Alright then. General, request permission to instruct pilot to redirect destination."
"Just do it, Captain. Just do it." Beatrix sighed and they both watched him clank into the cockpit. "Eh, why doesn't he give it up, ya know?"
Eiko grinned and came over to Beatrix, gingerly patting her stomach. "Does it feel cool to know that you're gonna be a mother soon, Beatrix?"
She saw a joyous smile on the General's face, one that hadn't existed since Garnet's disappearance. "Yeah. It even kinda gives me a euphoric feeling."
"Who's the father?"
Beatrix gave Eiko a careful, almost hesitant look. Then she turned slowly and walked away, towards the back of the Red Rose. "Tell me when we get there, Eiko," was all she called over her shoulder.
-0-0-0-0-0-
"Beatrix was right," I said, rummaging through the leaves. "Kuja's body is right here—don't worry, I won't touch it—and the Iifa Tree _has_ been moving."
"Look what I found!" Cinna called from the opposite end of the chamber. "A bottle. Must've held a Potion, or even a Hi-Potion. Seems like Zidane drank from it, too." He gave it to Blank, who was waiting on the surface with a bag, ready to collect clues.
"Anything else down there?" Baku called.
Marcus was in another corner, examining a root. "Hey, look over here, Dagger. Do you recognize this?" He pointed to a wound in the side of the root. It was almost a thick, straight line, seeming to go into the root. "If my knowledge of weapons is alright, this isn't an ordinary crack."
I gasped. "Yeah, that's about as thick and wide as the Ultima Weapon! Zidane made that."
"Must've made the Iifa Tree mad," Cinna put in. He turned toward the opening. "That's all, Boss. Nothing else, except for a few trodden patches where those Alexandrian troops must've wandered."
They all climbed out, seemingly discouraged. "Zidane could've gone to Conde Petie, or the Black Mage Village. Or…he could've been swallowed up by the earth." Baku pointed to an enormous fissure. Everyone winced. Baku grinned. "Hey, but we've got no evidence of that either, huh? So we're hopin' for the best. How about we head up to Conde Petie? Cinna, fire up the ship, will ya."
I looked back down into the hole that we had searched. Zidane had definitely been in there. He had definitely gotten out, as well, but the trail ended there. The only options we had were blind, random search, just as Beatrix had been resorted to. And she hadn't come up with anything at all.
-0-0-0-0-0-
"General, the Iifa Tree is in sight," the pilot said.
"Good!" She came to stand beside him at the controls. "Now, come in carefully, and land right next to the hole. You know which one. Oh, we're on the wrong side. Well, just come up close to the Iifa Tree, and follow it around."
Eiko came running from the deck. "Beatrix! I hear some whirring noise."
"It's just the Red Rose. We're getting ready to turn, so it's warming up."
Steiner came too. "I am sorry, General, but it is not the Red Rose. I think it may be—"
"Agh!" the pilot suddenly yelled, and yanked the steering wheel to the left. "Whoa!" Everyone shouted, abruptly falling to the side.
"Ahhh!" Eiko screeched, arms pinwheeling. "What—you lousy pilot! What are you doing?!"
"My baby! My baby!" Beatrix was screaming, hopelessly off balace and bumping into a crate. This caused Steiner to panic, and he knocked Eiko to the ground.
"Get off me, ya big clankin' lug!" Eiko shouted, wriggling out from underneath Steiner and hurried to the pilot. "What are you—ahh!"
A huge airship was beside them, and they were only meters from a collision. "Up! Up! Up!" Eiko screamed in the pilot's ear as he yanked the controls. Everyone, even the pilot, was thrown backwards, and Eiko—who righted herself first—was scrambling for the controls. "Ahhh! We're gonna hit 'em!!!"
-0-0-0-0-0-
"We've lifted, Boss," Blank said, coming from the cockpit. "Cinna wanted to drive."
"He doesn't even know where Conde Petie is," Baku muttered. "Where's the Queen?"
"Up top, with Marcus and the band. I'm headin' there right now."
"Yeah," Baku replied. "I'm comin' up, too. Just gimme a sec while I check on Cinna." Blank disappeared up the steps while Baku made his way to where Cinna had the controls. "Everything all right?"
"Yeah, Boss."
Marcus came running down. "Boss, I hear somethin' strange."
"Huh?" Baku looked around. "I don't. Cinna, did you check everything?"
"I even double-checked," Cinna said. "It's not us. Or at least, it shouldn't be. It could be the—aaaah!" Suddenly, another airship came into view. "It's—it's the Red Rose!"
Baku cursed and hastily waved to Marcus. "Secure the Queen! Hurry up, and—whoa!" Cinna had made a sharp right, as sharp as the big heavy airship could turn, and everything began to slide left. "Go!" Baku shouted. "Now!"
Marcus dodged a box and ran for the Queen, shouting "Bro!" along the way.
-0-0-0-0-0-
I drank in the warmth of the sunshine, my earlier stress gone momentarily. "It's such a pretty day, Blank. I'm so glad I'm out here instead of in my stuffy castle. Not that I don't like the castle, it's just that…it's stuffy." I sighed, and looked at Blank, but he wasn't paying attention. "Blank? Are you okay?"
Blank was looking around. "Marcus was right. I hear it."
"I don't hear anything. What—ahhh!!" We were both thrown to the left side of the airship. I was screaming and flailing, but suddenly Blank stifled me with his hand.
"Shhh!" He said, and we were both tossed to the side of the ship again. "Don't yell!" he said as he tumbled by me, and I held my tongue, grabbing onto the railing and landing with a thud on my rear.
Blank was halfway hanging on the edge, and suddenly he yelled, "I know that ship! It's the Red Rose!"
"What?!" I shrieked, and toppled to center stage, only to be scooped up by Marcus. "It's the _Red Rose_, Marcus! Beatrix is here!!!"
"Shhhh!" Marcus prompted. "Quiet, they'll hear you—oo—oh!" We rolled to the front of the stage, and I panicked when I felt I was slipping from Marcus's strong grip. He grunted and grabbed for me, but I had already flipped over the railing and was plummeting into the forest below. I tried to scream for help but I was already engulfed by the leaves. The last thing I heard was Blank, saying, "Where'd she go?!"
Everything went black.
AN: Ah, pretty suspenseful stuff there. A little bit of information on Beatrix and her baby, which is basically a short, subtle advertisement for the fanfic I'm planning on writing about her. I'm not too sure about it yet, though. I still gotta finish this one, okay?! Hehe. I'm not too good with writing several fanfiction at once, because I usually get frustrated, then bored, and I drop all the projects at once. So, lemme work one at a time. Oh, and if you liked it, didn't like it, or want to say something, please review. If you don't fit in any of those three categories, but you read my 'fic, please review anyway. Hehe, thank you for reading, I'll get the next one up soon.