Disclaimer:
Okay, this sucks like hell.
Final Fantasy IX belongs to SquareSoft and not to me.
I make no money from this fanfic; I'm just a miserable excuse for a living existence who gets creative using Square's FF characters.
So this time it's about Blank, who doesn't belong to me either.
By QueenQeeko.
The Blank Impression.
Chapter 4 - Blank Purpose.
If anything was going to wake Blank up after smashing his head into a wall, it would be fire creeping ever closer around him. A stray flame picked up on a few hairs on his dead-weighted arm, and then he was on his feet patting it out. Confusion flooded Blank's system as he took in his surroundings and the situation with it, and he didn't like it. Flying up the spiral stairs among the tongues of fire he ran to Baku, whom himself looked fine if only a bit shaken.
"Boss! There's fire everywhere! It's outta control!" Blank cried, barely remaining anything close to calm.
"Quit yer whinin' and get it under control!" was Baku's reply. "And get the wounded outta here!"
"Alright!" Blank answered, and yet again shot down the staircase. His senses were on overloads as his climbing feelings of panic swept back and forth over him. The fire would have to wait as Blank shouted to the Nero brothers to evacuate the wounded which mostly comprised of the orchestral band. Some of them were healthy enough to help drag their friends and comrades out of the blazing theater ship. Blank tirelessly raced around the many rooms of the ship, throwing buckets of water from the water stores onboard onto various patches of fire. Each of the Tantalus members hurried around, the bandits desperately trying to save their ship and crew.
'The flames are endless!' he thought miserably, dunking the bucket into the huge water barrel again for another burnt wall. He brushed past Cinna as the pot-bellied teen carried another band member over his head towards the Prima Vista's exit.
"Hurry up and put out the fire! I can't carry 'em all by myself!" Blank faintly heard Cinna shout from outside a moment later.
"Stupid ass," Blank growled as he doused another flaming floor, "I'm going as fast as I can."
"Bro!" Marcus' voice came next, and Blank turned to his brother as he appeared through another doorway, "Bro! What's happenin' with that fire?"
"I'm tryin' to put out the whole freakin' ship by myself! What's it look like?!" Blank snapped. "Where the hell is Zidane? I need some help here!"
"I dunno, I haven't seen him since we took off. Cinna said something about him leapin' off the ship," Marcus answered, following Blank as he returned to the water barrel, "and we can't find the princess anywhere either."
"What?!" Blank screamed. "You sayin' that we've lost her already? Sheez!"
"I'm 'fraid so," said Marcus as he grabbed a bucket as well and scooped out some water for the adjacent wall.
"What the hell d'ya think you're doin'?" Blank shouted as he dash out again to put out more fires, Marcus at his heels. They both dumped the water onto the wall, looking through a doorway to find a whole room with its floor ablaze.
"I'm helpin' you put out the fire, ya fool!" Marcus snapped back as he went back to the barrel. Blank returned to find Marcus placing the lid on the half full barrel and started pushing it towards the fiery room. Blank caught on and went to Marcus' side. They stood the barrel up at the doorway and removing the lid, tipped the barrel over and doused the whole floor.
"How're we doin'?" they heard Baku shout from somewhere towards the stage end of the theater ship. Blank cast his psychic gaze towards his surroundings. The last room that was burning was the planning room, and then Blank would have to check the engine room below.
"We got another three to go, I think!" he shouted, and went back to work, "Marcus, we gotta search for Garnet while we do this!. Marcus followed him back as they retrieved more water.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The last fires were extinguished finally; Blank leant against a charred wall of the hall and expelled an exhausted sigh.
"At least that's taken care of," Marcus muttered, flexing a strained bicep muscle.
"Tell me about it…" Blank murmured, just as the section of wall behind him decided to crumble, and Blank found himself laying in a pile of burnt wall rubble.
"No need to, you saw it yourself," Marcus grinned, and sat down by his brother.
"I guess…" Blank groaned. "So has anyone seen that princess yet? Because I haven't."
"Not a glimpse," Cinna answered as he entered from an adjacent room, "lots of us have already been lookin' for her in and outside of the ship. Nothin' so far."
"Oh joy," Blank grumbled, moving himself to a more stable section of wall. Cinna scratched his head for a moment.
"Well that's not all," he mumbled, and then spoke clearer," we also can't find that little black mage, or the crazy knight guy. Zidane took off to find the princess as well."
"Meh, the knight don't matter, but I kinda feel sorry for the kid," Marcus expressed, "he got caught up in our mess because those blasted knights were chasin' him around." When Marcus received no response from neither Cinna nor Blank, he turned to his right and peered at Blank's face. The poor guy had fallen asleep from fatigue.
For Blank, a chance to get some sleep was bliss. His dreams were the only times and places for him to see. In his dreams, he could see images, he could still understand what things looked like.
His dreams right there was showing him sitting in the corner of a dark room, one of the burnt rooms of the Prima Vista. His own image intrigued his subconscious curiosity. There were stitches all over his body. He looked at his own hand, seeing through the eyes of his self as he sat in the corner. He wore brown gloves.
Such interest and fascination wasn't even obvious to himself as he studied his gloved hand in the darkness. The soft, worn brown leather, the tussled Mu fur at the wrist, and the neat stitching… Much neater stitching than of what scars left behind on his mismatched skin, sewn when…
"You!" shouted a voice. He looked up at the form of the captain of those knights.
"Get up and find her!" the captain shouted, and with that he ran off, the clanking sound echoing upon the charred walls. He looked back down and stood immediately, no second thoughts for the armor that had just replaced his normal clothes, and he ran out of the room into the rest of a burning ship that opened out into the burning halls of a castle. The building was a hazy furnace and he just ran. No direction was known. He just ran. The fire had no heat, and as soon as he reached a doorway out of the structure, he stepped out onto an empty stage.
He blinked. The cold air there was pressing on him, grasping his body. The stage was dead with a setup of an icy back alley. He brought up his newly gloveless hands to his stained, oversized T-shirt, no armor to be seen. He felt so cold. How did he get this small? The floor was so close, the room larger. Everything was so big compared to a child like him. He looked back down at his hands.
He realized he could see his hands. He could see. His hands were sore. They were newly stitched, mismatched skin healing together. He examined his hands with wonder, with intrigue for the strange appendages. He knew not of his own curiosity for the hands in front of him. After a moment, he brought one hand to his face and felt the skin. He could feel stitches and mismatched skin. It was wet with a hot thick liquid. Peering at his fingers, they were coated in a red substance. And he caught a sliver of light in the dark.
Instantly he spun around to the light. It was something in the doorway of the stage exit to the dressing room. The light was reflecting off the small section of a mirror that was exposed from under a large dusty covering. He stared at it for minutes on end in a daze. Finally, he crept forward, gripping the corner of the veil gently and casting it off. It came away with a cloud of dust, and before him he beheld his reflection. The face of a green-eyed child with reddish brown hair, shoulder length and slightly tossed. A muddy oversized T-shirt and small dark shorts. A body under it all of clear perfect skin, slightly tanned.
He felt short of breath as he stared at the reflection of himself, two green eyes filled with confusion. But something about the mirror seemed odd… He edged closer. On closer inspection the mirror appeared to have a crack in it, and it fell diagonally just across the cheek and top of the forehead of his reflection. No sooner had this been discovered that the crack ripped all the way along the mirror the whole thing shattered with an ear piercing sound. He leapt back as the shards of the glass split and broke upon the floorboards. An inch from his foot, a single large shard reflected back up at him. But staring into the image on the loose piece, he began to breathe faster as his heart beat harder. The reflection was him, but not of the him he stood as. The image showed himself with tears pouring down his face, and his whole body was bleeding from the fresh stitching all over him.
He looked to another piece; it held an image of his right eye changing to blue and back to green, back and forth until the image grabbed at his face and scream. He heard the sound to accompany the vision, and he looked back to the first shard. The image on him in it was kneeling and crying in anguish as he held himself, blood dripping slowly to the black void flooring. Another shard; the stitching was taking place upon his torn skin. Another shard; eye drops to his right eye. Another shard; being thrown into a brink wall in a back alley at night. Another shard; a mangled bloody body lying on a dark cobble stoned street. Another shard; the face in darkness, but blood dripping down onto a test subject shirt.
A real scream filled the air, and he spun around to face the same mirror. The same single crack in the glass and his reflection, the scarred stitched body, the tossed reddish brown hair. The right eye unfocused and useless stared blank into nothing, and the other wasn't there, just a swollen bloody injury. He shut his eyes in disgust, but when he opened them again, he couldn't see.
He screamed.
"Blank!"
"Hungh?"
"Blank, wake up dammit!"
A sharp pain that appeared in Blank's left shin woke him out of the dream, and he groggily turned his attention up above him.
"About time, Blank!" shouted an anxious Zidane who was cradling the limp body of a young black mage. Behind him Marcus and Benero were struggling to hold up the also unconscious Steiner of the Pluto Knights.
"What the hell?!" Blank exclaimed as he jumped up and directed them into the cargo room. "What did you do to these guys?"
"I didn't do anythin'!" Zidane snapped as he laid the mage upon the rug. Marcus and Benero dropped the knight without being too gentle. Blank looked the two bodies over.
"They've been covered with seeds," he muttered, turning to his monkey-tailed brother, "how'd it happen?"
"I heard from Cinna that the princess was missing so I went scoutin' the area incase she ran off," Zidane explained as Blank dashed off into the planning room and returning with three glass potion bottles, "I found her and these two being attacked by one of the forest's plantish Mist monster guys, and it had her in its tentacles. It ran off with her but before we could go after it another came down and got Vivi."
"Who's Vivi?" Blank asked quizzically. Zidane gave him a pained looked.
"This little guy!" he burst out, pointing at the coughing black mage, "anyways, after me and Rusty here killed it, it let out this cloud of spores. It got these two, so I had to drag 'em back. That knight's really heavy!"
"I wouldn't doubt that," Blank chuckled, and with that he held the nose of the knight and opened his mouth. Into the gaping mouth and throat he poured a purple potion his had just mixed, and then he went about making another one.
"Benero, that potion will remove the seeds from this retard's body, make sure he drinks this one when he wakes up, so he doesn't get too disorientated," Blank instructed, and handed over a purple bottle of brown liquid. Turning his attention back to the black mage, Blank scratched his head.
"I won't be able to help this one until he's awake," he murmured.
"Why? Can't find his mouth?" Zidane joked, and ducked as Marcus swung a fist playfully at his head. Blank didn't answer. Instead he lifted the young mage from the ground and headed out towards the hallway, into the staircase room and through a door to the ship's bedroom. Vivi coughed again as Blank laid him down upon Marcus' bed, and found himself a section of wall to lean against. Well, two out of three missing peoples found, but the princess was the important one. The plant that had carried her away would have to be hunted after, but Baku would not likely allow a rescue mission unless it had probable chances for success. Zidane, being how he was, certainly wouldn't take those kinds of orders to happily.
Blank shifted as he heard a bit of racket going on a few rooms away. Perhaps that knight was waking up. In his weakened state he'd be no match for the Nero brothers of course, but Blank couldn't help but wonder as Steiner had already proved to be both obsessed with the princess and stubborn. Obviously too loyal to the Throne for his own good. And then Blank turned his thoughts back to the mage that was making small gurgling noises. Blank had no idea where this kid had come from. This was the first time Vivi had been in Blank's presence, and he wondered if maybe the young mage had either snuck onboard the Prima Vista or maybe that it was the work of the Pluto Knights. Yeah, he was mixed up in the problems they faced now. Blank didn't know why he had not thought about it before that moment. A dangerous forest outside Alexandria; Evil Forest. Appropriate name, since now they were probably screwed.
"Eugh…"
"Hmm?" Blank returned to Vivi's side as the young mage started to wake, gagging as he did so. "You alright there?" Vivi spluttered a little and tried to give him an answer.
"I f-feel sick…" he murmured, "and I can't move…"
"Yeah, I thought as much, what with your little misadventure out into Evil Forest," Blank smirked, and Vivi blinked at him.
"…Really?" he asked. Blank nodded.
"You guys are lucky. If it weren't for Zidane, you'd both be dead," he informed the young mage, "some of the monsters in this forest reproduce by planting seeds in other animals. And when the seeds sprout, it's hasta la vista: you become beef jerky."
"Um... A-Am I gonna die?" Vivi asked nervously. Blank gave him a lopsided grin.
"No. You're gonna be fine," he said, "here, drink this. It'll remove all the seeds from your body." Vivi tipped his head forward as Blank offered the bottle. Blank thanked himself for deciding to wait as the mage drank with no trouble. Although of course he didn't like the taste.
"Ugh...eeyuck..." Vivi muttered after taking a generous mouthful and swallowing it.
"Yeah, I know, but it'll save your life," Blank answered the complaint with a smile, and helped Vivi drink the rest of it. Once the bottle was empty Blank changed the bottle for another purple one like he gave to Benero for Steiner.
"Does that one taste bad too?" Vivi ventured to ask.
"Try it and see," Blank suggested, and as Vivi did so, the potion disappeared a lot faster. Vivi hiccoughed and then looked like he wanted to sleep, so Blank returned to his wall. The kid seemed nice enough, a little shy, but nice all the same. He was more than likely scared really, being in a strange place and all. As long as they were all kind to him there shouldn't be any complications. Still, how they were going to get out of Evil Forest was beyond Blank. Even if they were all at full strength, the band had no fighting ability, and that in itself would hinder their traveling out. Perhaps they could utilize the skills of a mage?
"…ABANDON HER!?" screamed a panicked voice from the hallway, and Blank was reminded of the knight. Perhaps if they could get him to cooperate, then Steiner could help fight off the Mist monsters as well.
"Um…" came Vivi's small voice again. Blank didn't respond other than turning his head towards the child. "Who are you guys?"
"Us?" Blank asked in turn. He scratched his head as he tried to figure out how to answer. "We're thieves actually." The reaction was a little alarming. Vivi instantly leaped over the side of the bed and tried to hide under it. Blank immediately felt rather stupid.
"Hey, hang on a sec! We're not bad guys!" he explained, throwing up his hands in a harmless manner. "Yeah, we're thieves but we don't go hurtin' people! We just try to make a few bob and only take from the nobles anyway!" At this a gurgle came out from under the bed, followed by a pointy hat and soon Vivi poked his head out. He stared at Blank for a moment and thought, and finally decided to emerge fully.
"Is that why Mr. Zidane saved me?" he asked timidly.
"Of course it is! We're not heartless y'know! We're also a theater group!" Blank told him. "Call us Tantalus; thieves or actors that's who we are. We will give out a helpin' hand to those that need it."
"Oh…" mumbled Vivi, who then crawled back up onto the bed with a sigh. Silence followed, and Blank was about to excuse himself out to avoid the awkwardness when Vivi's voice surfaced again. "Sorry."
"It's okay, kid. I should have explained that all before to ya. I'm Blank," Blank smiled to Vivi who dropped his gaze to the floor.
"Where is Mr. Zidane?"
"I dunno. Why?"
"…I just wanted to say thanks…"
"Well if I see him, I'll send 'im straight over."
Blank found his chance to escape as Vivi nodded, lay down and rolled over. Blank swiftly left the room, and took up the wall space beside the closed door. He felt bad for upsetting Vivi, but knew that it would pass between them. Still, he couldn't help but wonder about the kid. He was quite obviously very alone, and being a mage he would have magic, but that wasn't to say that he would be ridiculously powerful, although still useful. Perhaps, if the kid had nowhere to go and the Boss liked him, Vivi could join Tantalus?
Pushing that thought aside, Blank placed his attention on the form of Zidane, marching across the floorboards towards him with his tail flicking from side to side. Blank knew from experience that this behavior meant that Zidane had just received the short end of a stick. And quite normally this stemmed from the orders of Baku. Thankfully Zidane was one that didn't take it out on others, and as he approached the door he looked up at Blank who in turn nodded to him.
"I gave that black mage some medicine," he told his monkey-tailed brother, "I think he wants to talk to you." Zidane, rather than go straight in stared at Blank for a while, making the blind teen somewhat uncomfortable. Blank let Zidane scrutinize him for a few minutes, until finally getting fed up and pushed himself away from the wall.
"What's wrong? Why are you so fidgety?" he asked resolutely. "Sit back and relax. We ain't goin' anywhere for a while." He gave his brother a comforting pat on the shoulder and made his way across the room and out through the doorway. He didn't bother waiting to see if Zidane would either follow him or enter the bedroom, nor did Blank care.
He, like many people around the world, was a individual in his own right, and this meant that while the brothers of Tantalus were a pack of goofy thieves, Blank still had a renown trait for mood swings. His mood for now floated into the vicinity of thoughtful pessimism. By all means it had nothing to do with Zidane being moody, but with no one else to talk to Blank was forced to address the problem of escaping Evil Forest again. Blank didn't recall Baku saying if he himself had ever been in or around Evil Forest before, yet he certainly knew enough about it to give the Tantalus brothers all nightmares as children. But scary bedtime stories aside, really, had anyone ever escaped before? Baku wasn't the only one convinced that no one had ever survived, so was Blank now being hopeful? Or was he in denial of the truth? What denial? He hadn't even come close to believing they could make it. But did that mean that they might as well feed themselves to Mist monsters now?
The blind thief sighed and leant against a wall, as was his usual habit, and busied himself with dusting the ash and charcoal out of the Mu fur on his gloves. Curious enough, Ruby was the one that gave these gloves to Blank, a week later saying she didn't know why she wasted her money on him. But indeed, Blank felt bad that they'd left her behind. After all, she was their sister…sorta. Blank and Ruby got along like a pair of common siblings that didn't want to be anywhere near each other most of the time. Cinna's relationship with her wasn't much better, but he often found something else to keep himself entertained. Zidane so far had always gotten along with Ruby in a positive way, the kind of brother and sister that really cared about each other. But then Marcus…
Another sigh escaped Blank as he thought of his brother. Ten to one, Marcus was probably thinking of Ruby right at that moment. Blank had noticed over the last two years in particular that Marcus had taken a different kind of liking towards Ruby, and this was beyond the love of a sibling. In fact, the fact the Marcus still appeared to acknowledge Ruby as a sister was a cover up that was easy to see by anyone other than Cinna.
Blank half jumped when a huge thud sounded through the surfaced he leant on, and then a groan followed from behind the barrier. Blank checked his surroundings. He had apparently chosen to rest against the door of the very storeroom holding Steiner prisoner, and more likely than not, the knight had just rammed the door in another attempt at escape. Well, Blank thought, good luck. Even if Steiner did break free from the captivity of the Prima Vista he'd only have to then deal with Evil Forest itself. Not a smart thing, and while still a gruesome demise Blank found the image somewhat amusing somehow. Amusing until the door shook and vibrated again as the knight threw himself into it. The thief leaning upon said door decided to abandon the site. He barely walked two feet from the door when a voice caught him and stopped him in his tracks.
"Bro, you're doing it again."
"Marcus, you're stalking me again."
Marcus laughed at Blank's reply and stepped up from the staircase where he had been sitting observing his brother.
"The Boss is really angry with Zidane," Marcus informed him, the humor dropping from his voice.
"Thought as much," Blank replied, regrettably, and with a hint of bitterness, "what for this time?"
"Apparently, Zidane called him a coward and stormed off. Y'know the Boss hates being called a coward of any kind."
"Yeah, I know, so why hasn't he just knocked Zidane up for it?"
"Because he can't afford him to be injured if we're gonna try and get outta here," Marcus scratched his head and found a section of stairwell railing to dust ash off, "or so he says."
"Yeah, fancy big Baku of Tantalus gettin' his feelings hurt," Blank sniggered and then turned serious again, something he had been doing too much of as of late. "Actually, where is the Boss?"
Marcus snorted. "He's fallen asleep in the planning room," he said, "got bored waitin' around for somethin'" This made Blank think a moment, and with a casual wave to his fanged brother returned to the room of the stairwell. And quite fortunately he found just the person he wanted to see.
"...There you are," Blank muttered upon approaching Zidane, who, at that point decided to run straight up to him. Blank frowned and studied his monkey-tailed brother.
"Why do you look so serious?" Blank asked, and as Zidane stared at him, he somewhat realized he was up to something. "Uh-oh... What are you up to this time?"
"I'm gonna take that knight and the black mage to find the princess," Zidane replied completely serious about it. In a ridiculous mental back flip Blank scowled at him with an air of 'I think you're an idiot.'
"You're crazy! Man, you don't even know what's out there," Blank cried, getting back to the depressing thought that the forest may house their forever unknown and unvisited graves. When Zidane simply gave an uncaring shrug, Blank followed up with another reason why he should abandon the rescue mission. "Besides, there's no way the Boss'll allow that."
"I know..." Zidane said quietly. Blank shook his head. There had been many times that he had put up with this sort of behavior and many more times that Baku didn't. Blank sighed an exasperated sigh.
"Sheez... Why do you always gotta go play hero? The Boss is gonna kill you," he informed him very factually. Zidane looked down and scuffed at the floor with the toe of his shoe. Blank was worried about this. He was sure enough he had most if not all of their immediate dangers sorted out and accepted, and was hoping very much that Zidane was aware of them too. Blank swallowed a lump in his throat. He knew what was going to happen, and turned away from his brother.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Go talk to the Boss," Blank told him quietly, and didn't pursue him as Zidane exited the room and went off to find Baku. Blank stayed there for a moment, and simply thought hollow thoughts. In fact, he didn't really think very much, rather he stood and contemplated the one thought so much he wasn't conscious to the fact he doing it. The thought that he continued to address was of course Zidane, and Blank felt that he was having a hard time to dealing with it. He wasn't really prepared for Zidane to walk out on Tantalus again, but even worse was now, considering the extremely hazardous situation they were all in, Blank felt it best to punch a wall.
"…Fool!" he hissed as a section of timber wall splintered under his hand. He didn't want Zidane to run out to his death, even if it was for that blasted princess. As far as Blank was concerned, no princess was worth more than any of his brothers. He spun on his heel and raced through the ship, unlocked the door to Steiner's prison, and swept through towards the planning room, pass the drummer and the violinist and was about to charge straight for the door when he skidded to a halt at the sounds of voices.
"-for breakin' the rules."
"...Alright."
"Okay, get your butt over to the cargo room. We got more room there."
'Shit!' Blank thought, his mind ready to snap when he realized what was happening. He slid his body up to press against the wall. Through the doorway came Baku, followed by a slightly rigid Zidane. As Blank relaxed himself he quickly tensed up again as Baku drew his sword.
"You ready!?" Baku asked Zidane in a confident tone.
"Anytime!" Zidane replied back, with the same self-sure tone and Blank bit his lip. Blank had hoped the fight wasn't going to proceed, but as Baku cried, "I ain't holdin' back!" Blank was dismayed to find that Baku was true to his word.
He caught the first strike on Zidane, smacking him over the head with the flat of his blade and returning to his position with a "Gwahahahaha!" Zidane in turn snapped his weapons out true and nipped in for an attack with speed, unfortunately missing his large target.
"Yer gotta do better than that!" shouted Baku as he leaped forward to belt Zidane again. Blank hung his head down as the leader of Tantalus tripped over his own feet and fell flat on his face. Zidane took the opportunity to slice at Baku while the large man was dizzy, and this time the attack connected. The fight continued on. Yes, Blank thought, it was a fight. They were going to slay each other before the Forest did, and the two went on exchanging blows without care. It escalated to a point where, after an up swung sword blade to the chest from Baku, Zidane fell back and knelt on the ground. Blank just about jumped in before they killed each other when Zidane dashed out and dealt an equally painful assault to Baku. The man stood and watched him, before waving a hand and saying, "Okay, that's enough."
Blank felt it safer to step out into the open room now that the two weren't swinging weapons, and examined Zidane from a short distance away.
"I'll be damned...Bravo!" Baku muttered thoughtfully, before stepping forward and landing a punch to Zidane in the gut. Zidane almost gasped but held it. Baku grinned. "Go find your princess!" Baku then turned and headed into the instrument storage room, laughing loudly as he went. Blank turned his attention back to Zidane who chose that moment to sink to the floor.
"Damn, that hurt! He pulled his punches 'til that last one," Zidane groaned, his tail flicking from side to side. He approached Blank, who had a slightly impressed look on his face.
"Way to go Zidane," he said in congratulations, "I unlocked the door to storage, so you're free to talk to that knight. Zidane nodded and went straight towards the instrument storage room hallway. Personally, Blank was relieved. At least they didn't harm each other too much but still, it meant that Zidane was going to be leaving them. Blank quietly crossed the rug and floorboards towards the planning room. It was probable that when (or more like if) Zidane did end up finding Princess Garnet, she would be covered with the reproduction seeds of the Mist monster plants.
He searched the overturned chests in the room for glass bottles and potion ingredients, sitting on the floor and mixing a potion when he'd found everything he needed. Garnet would need the seed remover potion but it probably wouldn't matter if she received the stabilizer or not. Blank set to work, mixing the purple goop and returning all his tools to their rightful places. But again, that feeling of dread followed him. He soon found his feet dragging him towards the hallway pass the cargo room, and Blank decided to agree with himself and go outside. He was mildly amused to see Cinna running around, scratching his head and every now and then stopping to sit on the bluish grass and scratch his head some more. The Nero brothers were watching with interest.
"Lost somethin', Cinna?" Blank asked with a lopsided grin.
"Yeah! Can't believe I hauled all this stuff outside and the one thing I left to burn was my Garnet doll!" Cinna cried, looking truly annoyed. Blank laughed but nonetheless was sympathetic towards him.
"You can always buy a new one," Blank suggested, and decided to enlighten Cinna of what had been going on, considering the pot-belied teen had being hanging around outside for the past hour, "Zidane's leaving us again."
Cinna gibbered.
"He's what?" Cinna asked. "Why's he doin' that?"
"Because he wants to find the princess. He's takin' the crazy knight and the little black mage with him too," Blank informed him, "kinda feel sorry for the mage."
"No kiddin'," Cinna murmured, rubbing his forehead in a thoughtful way, "so he's gonna go rescue her and find his own way out of here?"
"Somethin' like that; he already beat the Boss."
"Huh?! And I missed it? Aww damn."
Blank chuckled, and then sat down by Cinna and simply enjoyed the silence while they had it. Blank was mildly intrigued about the silence since they hadn't been attacked during their stay in the Evil Forest. Both teens just sat and remained occupied with separate, yet unbeknownst to each other, similar thoughts. Some of Blank's thoughts included the Prima Vista's demise. They'd all only had it for a few years and already come to know it as though it were a second home. Now it was just attractive firewood. Another thought was whether they would live to see Ruby again, followed by the thought of whether would they live to see light again. Then there was Zidane's leaving, and since this was the first time they knew why he was leaving, it was especially hard to let him have his way. Zidane was very much a—
"Brat…" Cinna murmured, finishing Blank's thought. In turn the blind thief boggled at the statement as the pot-bellied teen next to him picked his oversized teeth with a splinter of wood.
"Trust Zidane to go off in pursuit of a princess. Show-Off," Cinna mumbled, somewhat amused yet critically.
"Yeah?" Blank asked, raising an eyebrow under his headbelt.
"Yeah. He never needs a reason to run to someone's rescue, he takes off anyway; so when Zidane does have a reason he just can't be stopped, y'know what I mean?"
Somehow, this brought a smirk to Blank's face.
"Yeah, I know what ya mean. The young lad is too stubborn."
This, however, brought a frown to Cinna's face.
"Whaddya mean, 'young lad'? I'm only two months younger than him and you're only a year older than us," Cinna snapped indignantly. Blank put on a lopsided grin and a squeaky Moogle voice that would get most people a punch in the nose.
"Then I guess that makes you the brattiest brat of us all."
Cinna swiped a fist at him and Blank took off with a wave after ducking under Cinna's paw. The pot-bellied teen just snorted and went back to cleaning out his teeth. Blank, feeling in a slightly better mood for his little bit of Cinna teasing, returned to the corridor just inside the Prima Vista's entrance. He figured if he wanted to help Zidane out, he might as well hang around and wait for him to pass by. Rightfully, that event shouldn't be too far away, considering it required very little brainpower to obtain two traveling buddies. Blank sighed though. Sure would have been nice to have a red mage in Tantalus, some magic would be great. All alright for Zidane, yeah, he had a black mage going with him. All right for him with his little rescue group to set out and find a damsel in distress. Tantalus was obligated to kidnap Princess Garnet Til Alexandros, heir to the throne of Alexandria, but not at the cost of their own lives; that was just lunacy.
Blank had leant on the wall for about fifteen minutes before Zidane passed through the cargo room door on his own and walked towards the exit. Blank noted this and thought that perhaps the mage and the knight had declined going with him.
"Sheez... you really dig her, huh?" Blank asked dryly, acknowledging that Zidane would still go through with rescuing the princess even on his own. Zidane, who had hitherto not noticed Blank leaning upon the charred and ruined walls turned to him and shrugged.
"I can't sit around knowing a girl's in trouble," he admitted honestly yet casually, "goes against my nature."
"Whatever. You're full of crap," was Blank's dismissal of his monkey-tailed brother's motivation.
"Ohhh.... I get it," Zidane laughed at Blank, "you're jealous that I'm gonna get me a sweetie pie." Blank damn near threw a chunk of stone at him.
"Pshhh... She's not even my type," Blank scoffed, and thought that if Zidane was going to be cocky about his mission Blank may as well get rid of him, taking out the potion he had mixed previously, "I came down here to give you this."
"You're always thinking about me...but I won't need a love potion to reel this one in."
"Why don't you get your mind off girls for a second? This is medicine I gave to that black mage and the knight. It's sort of like a seed remover."
"Cool. This'll really come in handy," Zidane said, taking the glass bottle and strapping the neck of it to his belt.
"Why am I always helping you...?" Blank asked himself more than anyone really. Zidane on the other hand, just grinned and waved while playing the part of the idiot.
"Thanks, Blank. I'll see you when I see you," he said, and with a salute he walked out of the Prima Vista for what would be the last time.
"How about never?" Blank muttered. It was quite amazing how quickly Zidane could irritate someone, and invariably it was Blank that received it. He harrumphed and took a deep breath. He was about ready to move again when Vivi and Steiner stepped through the doorway and followed Zidane out, Vivi giving Blank a friendly wave and Steiner giving Blank a hateful glare. They disappeared, and Blank scratched his head.
'Okay,' Blank thought, 'I stand corrected, maybe Zidane isn't that alone.' Still, it did little to improve his mood. Blank halfheartedly wondered if anyone else had bothered to pursue an escape plan. So far, Blank was yet to hear a rational decision to the next move, and even if one had been made there was no guarantee it would work. Just as well perhaps, Blank mused, and turned away from the wall he was facing and instead ended up with his back to the entry door of the cargo room. That was something else he'd have to get used to. Without the Prima Vista for traveling between cities and towns, life would be a lot more complicated.
First of all, treks between Lindblum and Alexandria would be A) More dangerous, B) Longer journeys, and C) A pain in the ass. They were just a few things that bothered Blank, but he didn't let it bother him too much. After all, rather than whining about getting more exercise, they still had the task at hand. And everything single time Blank got him self back to that same topic, that same 'well back to getting out of here' topic, he felt it being increasingly hopeless.
The fact the orchestral band decided to start playing some upbeat parade music right about that moment did little to improve Blank's frame of mind.
'Great, so now we'll just give the Mist monsters a sound signal to direct them to our location? Oh yes, very clever…' Blank thought dismally. As they played, Blank considered the option of heading outside to where the Nero brothers and Cinna was and before the decision was made his feet were already carrying him towards the exit. Very soon, however, he found is feet somewhere above the floor and he was no longer going anywhere. He did, on the other hand, realize there was in fact a very large hand gripping the back of his neck and it was this, he deducted, what had prevented his leaving of the ship. The band continued to play.
"Are all my boys leavin'?" Baku asked, and when he received a blank look from Blank (of all people) he dropped the teen on the ground in a rather indifferent way and beckoned to him to follow outside. Blank had hardly dusted himself off when he was grabbed again and dragged towards the inside of the Prima Vista. He was uncomfortably sure he knew how Cinna's Garnet doll felt.
"Won't all this ruddy music just lure the monsters straight here?" Blank shouted above the noise. Baku either didn't hear him or didn't care, and thus continued up the stairs and pass the storage room. Hauling Blank through the main room and receiving a puzzled look from Marcus as he ascended the stairs, Baku gave a final heave with little effort and successfully tossed Blank midair into the bedroom. Blank landed roughly and rolled a few feet until he came to a sudden stop against the wall.
"Alright, now I got somethin' for ya to do," Baku announced. Blank groaned.
"Oh yeah? Why couldn't you just ask me to follow you?" he asked irritably upside-down from the floor. Baku smirked at him, and picking Blank up by the foot again lifted him above Marcus' bed and let go. He then produced a map from somewhere behind his back.
"I've been tryin' to figure out a few ways to get outta this forest," Baku informed him, "and while I'm doin' that I want you to take a look at this." Blank twisted his upper body around until he heard a satisfying crack, and expelled a sigh. He proceeded to do the same with his neck, shaking his head afterwards and turning back to Baku.
"Come again?
Baku told him again. Blank took the map from Baku and unrolled it. It was a map of Evil Forest. He babbled slightly.
"How long have you had this?" he demanded, none too politely. "We could had started plannin' our way out of here long ago!"
"Didn't know I had it," came Baku's explanation, "one of the boys must have picked it up in their travels, because I only discovered it a little while ago." The music from the band, much to Blank's delight, ended at the same time Baku's sentence did, and he ran his fingers over the map. It was old, and it had a generous number of tears and bloodstains on it. Whatever crazy bastard would hang around in Evil Forest long enough to draw the details of the forest was a lucky man indeed to make it out alive with this thing, Whether he or she was alive now, mattered not to Blank.
"Boss…" he started quietly, earning him the attention of his adoptive father, "did you look this over much?"
"Naw, why?"
"There's a stream, or a river near here…"
"What about it?"
"…We could use it to escape."
"…"
"…"
"…MARCUS!!"
Marcus appeared at the doorway almost instantly, huffing and wheezing and leaning on the door, wearing an expression on his face that meant he though he was in for it.
"Yeah?" he ventured to ask, and Baku waved him into the room.
"Take a look a that map that Blank has there," Baku ordered him. Marcus shrugged and stepped heavily over to Blank, who in turn handed the beaten parchment to his brother. Marcus scanned the map, his brow wrinkled with thought, and before long he raised his eyes to Blank, and then looked at Baku over his shoulder.
"I'll round up Cinna and the Nero brothers and get started on a raft," he stated. Baku nodded resolutely. Marcus pushed the map into Blank's hands and took off out of the room, hollering as he went about something to do with freedom. Blank really couldn't believe luck had fallen into his lap for once. If there was a river then there was a way it would lead out of the forest, and if that was the case, then they were saved. Blank almost kissed the map he held.
"I'll go search the area and report back if it's not gonna work," Blank declared, walking passed Baku and handing the map back to him. Blank was about two feet out of the room when Baku stopped him.
"No ya not, I'm gonna go look around. I want you to go find Zidane," Baku told him.
"Say what?" Blank asked in turn. Baku let him go and looked at him thoughtfully, and then let a sigh escape him.
"I want ya to go with Zidane. I'm sick of the brat runnin' off the way he does, because I never know if he's gonna come back or not," Baku explained truthfully, "I know that if another of you boys went wit' him he might do better, so ya can watch each other's backs." Blank dropped his head down a little and considered it. True. It was very true. He didn't want to let Zidane go again either, but he didn't know about leaving Tantalus alone… Of course, it wasn't like he wasn't going to be part of Tantalus anymore, like Zidane had done today, but still. Making his decision, Blank lifted his head.
"Alright, if I have to," he muttered, not disrespectfully, but not exactly thrilled either, walking out of the room and along near the staircase.
"That's my boy," Baku sighed, ruffling Blank's hair as he followed him out.
"Are you sure about this?" Blank found himself asking, just checking again to be sure they weren't throwing themselves to the wolves. Or more correctly, throwing Blank to the Mist monsters.
"Yeah, don't worry. We'll be outta here soon, too," Baku reassured him, producing another scroll from his belt, and handed it to the blind teen, "here, take this map. It's gonna be a long trip back to Lindblum..."
"Alright. I'll see you later," Blank agreed, saluting in synch with Baku.
"I'm countin' on you!" Baku told him, and with that said and decided, Blank turned away just as Marcus was descending the stairs. Blank privately swore at himself, as he knew what was coming.
"Where are you going, Bro?" Marcus asked, completely unaware of their separating on the road that was to come. Blank mumbled and mishandled his sentences as he tried to come up with a reasonable explanation to his leaving, but wound up with none. Baku came to his rescue.
"I'm jes sendin' Blank along with Zidane," He said gently, looking Marcus in the eye. Marcus remained silent, but Blank could just feel his brother's anger building, especially since Marcus was the one that cared about the family the most, as well as being the Peace Keeper, the Voice of Reason and the clear thinker.
"No, he's not," Marcus said simply, and for the first time in his life perhaps, was arguing with Baku's orders. Baku widened his stance.
"I'm sending him along with Zidane," he said firmly.
"No, he's not," Marcus said even firmer, his sharp teeth showing as he bared them angrily. Now, Blank was faced with two options. He could very well take up Marcus' side and possibly get them both thrown out of Tantalus, or, he could agree with Baku and risk severing ties with Marcus. He was an easy to her person, if you were close to him, and hurting Marcus was something Blank wouldn't do. His decision was difficult to choose however, as both people had equally good reasons, he supposed, for wanting their way. Thinking of Zidane pushed Blank's thoughts to one side, and prepared himself as he knew he would regret opening his mouth.
"Marcus, it'll be fine," he reassured him, stepping up to his fanged brother's side and placing a hand on his shoulder, "I'm going to take a map to Zidane and we'll meet you guys back at Lindblum. Surely you don't want Zidane to leave again. What if he doesn't come back?"
"What if you don't come back?" came Marcus' retort. Ah, Blank almost found himself caught.
"Hey, it'll be alright!" Blank exclaimed, feigning confidence. "Have some faith in me! Isn't that right, Boss?" Blank turned to find that Baku had abandoned him to deal with the stubborn Marcus himself, and he inwardly cursed their father for dumping him in hot water.
"I don't want you to go," Marcus said obdurately, not looking at Blank. Blind or not, Blank found this hurtful.
"Marcus, c'mon… you know that some things have to be done…" he tried to reason. Marcus shook his head.
"Don't go, Bro. I got a really, terrible, bad, awful feelin' you shouldn't go," Marcus advised him. Blank opened his mouth, but then shut it again. What was he doing? Here was his best friend and his brother rolled into one person, the same person that he trusted above all people, and Blank was arguing with him. He didn't want to go and help Zidane anyway… sort of. No, Blank was lying to himself. He cared about Zidane too, and he'd do the same thing if Cinna, or Baku, or the Nero brothers were in Zidane's deadly situation. He'd never hesitate if it were Marcus.
"Marcus… I can't ju-"
"Blank," Marcus said quietly, the use of his name instead of 'Bro' silencing him with significance, "please don't go out there. Ever since we were just kids, Zidane has always been takin' off and never tellin' us why or where he went. He could have died on any of those occasions and we'd never see him again. This time it's sheer suicide, and I'm just glad that he's got two strong allies." Marcus turned to Blank again, looking utterly miserable.
"We've left behind Ruby, we've let go of Zidane, and I won't lose you either."
Blank had no idea what to say. He opened and closed his mouth a number of times, but he had nothing to counter with. He thought and scraped for reasons, but he felt truly torn apart. On one hand, to go after Zidane and possibly save his life. The other hand, Marcus' plead for him not to go. Blank and Marcus had done everything together since they were very little, and separating now was obviously a mental torture for Marcus.
Blank felt a tear burning in his right eye under the headbelt, and soon found himself pulled into a tight brotherly embrace by Marcus as the older teen squeezed his own eyes shut.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ten minutes later saw Blank walking up into a clearing that was devoid of monster activity. This he found a relief as he had already encountered more than enough Fangs in his lifetime. The clearing had a fresh water spring in the center of it, and Blank made note to bottle some before he continued on. Blank searched the area briefly before discovering he wasn't as alone as he thought.
"Kupo?"
"…Hey."
"Kupo!" a small round creature, identifiable as a moogle, jumped out from where he had been hiding in a hollow tree stump, and ran up to Blank with many exclamations of "Kupo!"
"Yeah, yeah, kupo…" Blank mumbled, "listen, uh, can you tell me something?"
"Anything that I might know, kupo!" came the answer. Blank scratched his head and though for a moment, not really sure how to deal with the furry bouncing thing.
"Have you seen anyone go by at all? Y'know, like um…" he started uncertainly. The moogle instantly changed from happy-go-lucky to death-is-coming.
"I did! I did! A boy with a tail and a little black mage and a big rusty knight all came through here! They drank some water from that spring and then left!" the moogle cried, speaking as though the three people he had talked about were heading towards their doom.
"Really?" Blank demanded, "where did they go? Tell me!"
"They went that way!" answered the worried little moogle, pointing off deeper into the forest, "they went off towards the big Mist monster meanie plant thing!" Blank had little idea of what the moogle meant by that, other than it was really bad.
He thanked the moogle briefly and took off along the path that had been freshly walked on. Five minutes along and he halted his flight to examine his surroundings. The forest was changing its mood, and Blank knew he was running out of time. He raced off again along the path, darting out of the way as Mist monsters began to multiply and appear from both sides. Blank continued to fumble through the forest as fast as his patchwork legs could carry him.
'Blank, how do you let yourself get into these messes?' he thought to himself. 'Correction, how do you let Zidane get you into these messes? Alone in the Evil Forest of all places, surrounded by God-knows-what, with knout but two Potions, a Phoenix Down and nothing to defend myself with but an iron sword. And why? To deliver a map to Zidane's dumb self so he can rescue a princess, the same princess that could have gotten us all killed!'
Amidst his mumbling and rambling to himself Blank failed to notice a large up-growing root that was spread across his path. He tripped, flew through the air and landed face first into a gauss bush. A 'small' cry echoed through the otherwise silent forest.
"AAAAAAOOOOOOUUUUUCCCHHH!!!"
Blank pulled himself unceremoniously out of the gauss bush, brushed the prickles from his hair and continued on his trek at a painful and somewhat slower pace. Ten minutes of running turned up no sigh of Zidane or his party. Seconds before Blank was about to take off down a side path, a loud explosion erupted from somewhere ahead of Blank's original choice of destination. This was followed by another explosion and accompanied by a bellowing battle cry.
"For the princess and Alexandria!" went the shout. Blank hastened to the place of commotion. Upon his arrival there, he stopped and marveled at the scene in front of him. He had discovered Zidane and his party engaged in battle with the resident Mist monster overlord.
'And I thought Cinna was ugly,' Blank thought dismally. Vivi was the furthermost away, using his fire magic to the best of his abilities. His magic was extremely effective, but that was when it hit its mark. Otherwise the blasts were all unsuccessful, as the black mage continued to shut his eyes and fire wherever his hands were pointing. Steiner was up ahead at the front line, to the monster's right, nursing a wounding shoulder but still keeping up the 'good fight'. His heavy sword and bulky armor made it difficult to get in close at times, whereas Zidane's nimbleness and significant lack of armor made it easier to use "Hit and run" tactics. Blank was following Zidane's movements like a bouncing oglop. In, attack, bugger off. In, attack, bugger off. In, attack, bugger off, etc. While efficient, Zidane's dagger work was not going to defeat the monster all on its own, thus the monster was still to a degree, thriving.
It occurred to Blank at about this time, that he had been watching, and not participating. He decided maybe, he should change that. He charged forward and brought himself level with Zidane on the monkey-tailed teen's right.
"Whew, I made it just in time," Blank announced, swinging his sword to rest on his shoulder and dropping into his battle stance, "step aside. I'll take care of this." To prove this boast, he dashed forward and ducked under a flailing tentacle and thrust his sword deep into the enemy's abdomen… And successfully proceeded to get his sword stuck. Blank blanched. He heaved at the sword as hard as he could. The monster, which hitherto had not noticed Blank at all, was not at all amused by this incidence, swept its left tentacle across the battlefield, collected Blank in the stomach and sent him flying through the air again (with sword in tow), and as if to add insult to injury, Blank landed in another gauss bush.
'Why does God hate me?' Blank thought irritably to himself. Again, he tore himself free of the thorny shrub, and leaped onward into the fight for round two. 'I'll put a thorn in your side, ya bastard, an iron one…' he thought, hell bent on charging the monster again. A flash to his left caught his attention. He took a moment to examine the event, and gaped. He wasn't aware that Steiner could use magic…? Although, this thought was thrown away as he noticed the young mage by the knight's side casting what appeared to be a fire enchantment upon Steiner's trusty Pluto Knights addition broadsword. With a sadistic and self-sure grin, the knight leaped towards the 'beast', rising high into t he air as though the wing were carrying him (which in itself is a true miracle of physics), screaming, "For the princess!! I shall smite thee!!"
There was a crash, a fiery whoosh, a clanking thud and a groan. This was followed by an angry shriek. Blank physically closed his mouth with his hand. Steiner returned to his place in the battle line, just as the Mist monster brought its tentacles up above its…head, thing, and the sky grew dark.
"I don't like this, I know this feeling," Blank heard Vivi whimper somewhere to his left. Indeed, it felt as though everything were getting colder for a short moment. Before long, a great thunderous bolt of lightning was crashing down upon the four would-be rescuers. Blank's last thought before it hit was something along the lines of, 'God does hate me…'
The blast hit the ground with an eruption of lightning, spreading up and across the ground with such anger that could rival Ruby when she was having one of her regular tantrums. Surprisingly, Blank found himself completely unscathed if only blown to a different point of the battlefield, with a muttering Zidane nearby grumbling about a singed tail. Blank took note of the other two companions, the knight glugging down a potion and the mage shaking his head as he lay upon the forest floor. The monster, thoroughly pissed that it had not killed them, was noticeably struggling with its own injuries. A grin crept across Blank's face.
"Zidane, now's our chance! Let's go!" Blank encouraged his monkey-tail brother.
"Don't forget me!" came a shout from Steiner, up on his feet and rearing to go.
"And me!" piped up a tiny voice in the wilderness. Vivi appeared from behind Steiner, gripping onto both sides of his oversized hat. The intended rescuers fell upon the monster like ants on a shattered caterpillar. A combination of slashing, hacking, lopping, swearing and spell casting saw the monster broken and beaten. Thus, defeated.
Blank replaced his sword into its sheath as he allowed himself to pant for a few minutes, not caring about the other's and their action as Steiner attempted to shake some awareness into Garnet.
"Princess!!! Please get a hold of yourself!" the Pluto Knight Captain pleaded to the groggy princess, who to Blank appeared to have taken on an impressive quantity of poison. He did also notice that Zidane was staring dumbly at Garnet, and it struck Blank that yet again he would have to help him.
"Zidane, give her the stuff," Blank suggested irritably. Zidane nodded to him, crossed over the dead or dying Mist monster and withdrew the medicine Blank had given him earlier. Getting the liquid down the princess' throat proved to be a small challenge.
"Princess, please try to drink all of it," Steiner encouraged, and Blank turned away from the scene to consider their escape now that the rescue was completed.
"Is she gonna be okay?" Vivi asked worriedly as the princess was tended to. Blank wasn't concerned about that, he was currently concerned about the ground shaking rumbling that decided to rock the forest at the moment.
"Oh, man! What now!?" Blank demanded the open air, probably echoing the thoughts of the other three companions. At the center of the dwelling a huge hole opened up in the ground, and two large bug creatures climbed out. Blank blanched as a third one entered the room from the doorway he and probably the others had entered through.
'Holy mother of Gaia and all of her creations,' Blank thought. "Sheez! We're gonna be surrounded!"
"Let's get out of here!" Zidane exclaimed.
"GO!" Blank shouted. Steiner, still holding Garnet, and Zidane ran towards the most obvious exit and out. Vivi, Blank found, had not budged.
"What are you waitin' for!?" Blank snapped at him, wondering why the hell the little mage would hang around. The shout seemed to wake Vivi out of a terror-induced stillness and he soon raced out after Steiner and Zidane. Blank returned his attention to the three monsters baring down on him, and he back out of the monster dwelling in great haste. He was both relieved and frustrated that everyone had waited for him. They began the last stage of the escape: the escaping part!
The four of them were running away from a legion of bug monsters chasing after them. Blank tireless hurtled on with the mage and the knight carrying the princess went on ahead of him. He heard the scuffling of boots behind him however, and turned to find Zidane had stopped.
"What are you doin'!?" Blank near panicked, running back to where his monkey-tailed brother stood.
"Something's wrong..." Zidane mumbled. As if that wasn't obvious; but Blank couldn't help but ask anyway.
"What?"
"The entire forest is coming after us," Zidane stated, and turned to Blank with a serious look on his face, "Blank... Take care of everyone." Blank was left in puzzlement as Zidane ran off pass him and started to catch up with Vivi and Steiner.
'What did he mean by that?' Blank asked himself, and followed close behind. He resumed the flight to freedom, and indeed Zidane was right and the forest was coming after them. As they rushed along the path, behind them, dozens upon dozens, possibly hundreds, of bug creatures brought up the rear. Blank had enough time to drop back and with a quick burst of speed slammed into the back of Vivi, effectively pushing the mage forward to the front of the group along with Steiner as he cradled Garnet in his arms. Both of them passed Zidane in their race to the exit of the forest.
The forest monsters were gaining ground, and the desperation of the situation started to fully settle into Blank. He then noticed that Zidane was running slower than usual, as the monkey-tail was normally very quick. But then panic invaded his world. He let his psychic gaze float to behind him and as he was about to overtake Zidane, one of the monsters leaped forward towards his brother.
::Flashback::
"Ever since we were just kids, Zidane has always been takin' off and never tellin' us why or where he went. He could have died on any of those occasions and we'd never see him again."
::Present::
'NO!!'
Blank threw himself to the side to knock Zidane out of the way of a plant monster's groping pincers and found him in the creature's tight grasp. He struggled and pulled at the appendages as hard as he could, and as he was lifted above the ground the other monsters gathered around what had been caught. A miserable realization of the end came to settle on Blank as he struggled, but up ahead he felt Zidane stop and reach out helplessly to him.
'The map…'
Digging it out of one of his many belts Blank launched the map which Baku gave him to Zidane who, still running, picked it up and ran towards the exit, understanding that Blank knew he was not going to make it. Blank observed as Zidane made the final sprint for the exit, but never saw him make it to safety as a wave of petrification swept along the forest.
Blank had only just thrown the map when he felt his body going cold. Icy cold hands were squeezing his lungs to frigid stillness. His skin was going hard, and soon, Blank's awareness was gone; a blank mind in a stone body
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zidane pounded on the stone wall of petrified vines, sealing him out of the forest where his brother had been left behind. Why?! Why had he followed him into the forest?!
"Dammit!!! That idiot!" Zidane shouted, punching the wall a final time as the tears ran unchecked down his cheeks. He sobbed for a moment, and then dropped to his knees, murmuring the name of his savior.
"Blank..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"How are you feeling?" Zidane asked Princess Garnet as she approached him by the wall, where he had been sitting the past two hours.
"Good...thanks to that medicine you gave me," Garnet answered him, "could this be...?"
"Yeah, I was surprised, too. After we beat that big plant-guy, the forest got completely petrified," Zidane explained, turning around to the wall again. He was still having a hard time coming to terms with the previous night.
"Vivi told me that we were able to escape because of your friend," came Garnet's voice from behind. Zidane struggled to control his tears from coming forth again.
"...His name is Blank," Zidane told her.
"We must go help him."
"We can't do anything for him right now."
"But...I can't - "
"We'll come back for him," Zidane promised, turning to the princess with a resolute look on his face, "I'm sure there's a way to cure him."
Next Chapter - Blank Ways.
~QueenQeeko