Your Own Flesh And Blood
By Jenny Wiseman
There had always been just one flower, but today, he held three in his hand.
'Teta saved me that day, Ramza!'
The king's brown eyes filled with sadness as he gazed out at the ocean. A salty breeze whipped his soft brown hair up in frenzy; he took a deep breath and turned slowly, choking loudly as the remains of Fort Zeakden came into view. Slowly, he walked up the steep hill before him.
Delita looked out upon the once charred landscape, remembering vividly how the smoke poured out of the shaking, crumbling stone building just before it exploded. Now, however, tall green grasses had grown across the field, and it was dotted with small yellow and white flowers.
Despite the fact that he was quite obviously alone, King Delita couldn't help but be paranoid. He had convinced himself it was because of what he had become—when you're the King of a united nation, it's perfectly natural to be at least a little wary of the world around you—however, today it seemed particularly bad, as though he were being closely watched by someone or something.
He walked a bit farther, stopping finally at a large hole in the ground. His brow twitched, and for the first time all day, the King spoke, "What in the HELL?" His tone was a mixture of horror, rage and disgust.
The young ruler turned around, flinging his brown hair out of his face as he did so and kicking a small clump of dirt into the hole. He looked around, sincerely believing for the moment, that the grave of his younger sister had only recently been robbed.
Crumbling walls of limestone and rotting wood surrounded him. There were no strange noises—just twittering birds and a soft breeze. Delita sighed. 'Of course,' He thought, turning back around and kneeling before the empty gravesite. 'I haven't been here in months. This thing could've been empty for a very long time.' His moment of angsty wallowing was cut short by the distinct sound of footsteps on grass.
Turning suddenly, Delita's eyes caught sight of fabric moving behind a large slab of limestone. "Stop! I've seen you!" He said, sounding as brave and as sure as he normally sounded, "Are you the one who defiled this gravesite? Have you no respect for the deceased?" His eyes narrowed, and when no one replied, his hand moved to the hilt of his sword. "Come out, now! Come out and show yourself!"
Whatever it was behind the limestone wall began to rustle noisily. Delita took several steps forward, drawing his sword and holding it in one hand and the three flowers in the other.
And then… the creature behind the wall stepped out and the three flowers fell to the ground.
The king's grip on his sword loosened, the weapon almost falling from his fingertips.
"De…Delita?" The sallow-skinned girl called, reaching out her arms. "Delita…I can barely see! Is that you? Is everything ok?" This young lady looked as though she could be no older than sixteen; her long, black hair stirred in the wind like the tall grass at her feet.
She stared straight out in front of her, her blue eyes darker than her dress—which looked as though it had been burnt and torn in places.
"T—Teta?" Delita's sword finally fell to the ground, landing with a dull clank. He stumbled forward, toward the girl, "Teta? How?! You're OK?"
Teta's expression did not change, "Delita…I saw them. I saw our parents." Delita's brown eyes grew wide as he watched the sickly-looking girl reach out desperately for someone to hold on to.
"Teta!" Delita cried happily. "You're here!" Tears welled up in his eyes as he ran to his younger sister, grabbing her up into his arms and embracing her in a hug. When the girl's arms found Delita, she wrapped them around him, returning the hug.
The two stood there for some time. Delita wept openly, despite his efforts to be a brave, strong big brother. Teta, on the other hand, merely sniffed loudly. "I'm so happy, Teta." Delita mumbled through his tears. "So much has happened." As he spoke, his younger sister stood up on her tiptoes, bringing her chin up to rest on Delita's shoulder.
"Delita…" Teta said suddenly, "I'm…so hungry."
"Where have you been all this—" The king's question was cut short. Teta had opened her mouth and gleefully indulged in biting into her older brother's shoulder and ripping a huge chunk of flesh from it. Delita screamed in pain, shoving the girl off of him. He stumbled backwards and fell just short of the hole where his sister had been buried.
Blood dripped from Teta's mouth. She looked positively pleased as she swallowed what she had stolen from her elder brother. "I'm sorry, Delita." She said, sounding unapologetic. "Please…Let me help you."
Delita scrambled backwards around the grave. A mixture of physical and emotional pain prevented him from responding to the undead girl's offer.
"It serves him right."
"He doesn't deserve it, Agrias. Don't say that." The crimson red eyes looked sadly upon the scene before them. Ramza knitted his brow, averting his eyes.
"I…can't." Muttered Ramza. The short, blonde girl standing next to him placed her hand on his shoulder. "I let Teta die. I won't let her suffer such a curse in the afterlife!"
Alma turned to face the other warriors who surrounded them, a motley group of knights, soldiers and mages. "We'll handle this."
"Ramza! He used you! He used Ovelia! Why do you help him?" Agrias shouted angrily, but the blonde warrior was already headed down the hill, the curl atop his head bouncing with each step. Alma followed behind him quietly.
"Because…" Ramza said, pulling a revolver from the holster around his waist, "…he is my best friend."
"Let me help you, Delita! Let me help you!" Teta urged, stumbling forward. Her movements were very rigid. It was as though she had not moved in some time and each step was bothersome.
Delita let out one loud sob. He forced himself up onto his feet, and clutched his bleeding shoulder with his left hand. "Stay away, Teta." He warned. He knew, though, that he could never harm his sister, and even if he wanted to, his sword was out of reach.
"No, Delita. I want to see you! You're my brother! I want you—my own flesh and blood!" Teta cried out, her voice suddenly filled with emotion. Although the emotion she showed was neither compassion, nor sadness—she sounded starved.
A ray of blinding bright light shot out from the distance, hitting the ground before Teta's feet and exploding in white sparks of light. The creature, which was hardly human any longer, screeched in pain and cowered backward.
The King, his eyes wide with surprise, turned quickly to see what the source of the bright white light had been. The figure looked so familiar, it was rather short and very thin; and although the heavy clothing it wore had obscured most of its features, its bright crimson eyes and soft blonde hair were plainly visible in the sunlight.
The figure continued to stomp down the steep hill toward Delita and Teta, holding the gun aimed and ready, so that he could fire again at any time.
The young girl who followed close behind this mysterious warrior stepped away from him, and toward Delita "Magical Barrier!" She cried loudly, thrusting her arms out at the King. In an instant, a pink shield of light surrounded him.
"Teta!" The mysterious warrior called walking toward the girl, "Fight the darkness! Awaken, so that you may leave Ivalice and finally rest in peace!"
The zombified teenager turned, her dark eyes meeting with the warrior's crimson gaze. A look of horror spread across her face. "Ramza!" She whispered breathlessly, and the blonde man pulled the trigger.
White light gathered at the shaft of the gun and then shot out, striking Teta in the chest. The dark haired girl fell to her knees and then backwards. Her expression was tranquil, and her lips were curled into a gentle smile.
Ramza let his hand fall to his side; he turned to look at the King…
Delita's vision blurred. At first, he could see the world spinning in a blur; he was barely able to make out the form of two people walking—or were they running?—around. At first, he could feel his knees as he fell to the ground; and at first, he could hear the sounds of people talking. But then there was darkness.
Delita's brown eyes opened quite suddenly. He lay there quiet for some time. That dream seemed so strange, but definitely surreal. His arm ached from the mere thought of it all, and it was already beginning to slip from his memory.
"Ah, his majesty is awake." Said a gracious advisor as he approached the King's giant bed. "We were beginning to worry."
"What?" Delita sat up, and suddenly the ache in his arm didn't seem so psychological any more. He grasped at his shoulder, which he quickly found was covered in bandages. "Wh…what happened?"
The old, official looking man cleared his throat, "Well, sire—"
The royal closed his eyes, "No. Nevermind. Nevermind."
Author's note:
OK. WTF. XD I totally can't believe anyone actually read this. Originally, it was intended to be a joke—TETA BECOMES A ZOMBIE!!OMFG!! Is a fic I've wanted to write for a long, long time to parody all the "Aeris Comes Back To Life!" fiction in the universe.
Of course, it sort of became more serious than I had intended (originally, Ramza and Alma were supposed to come out with uzis and blow her away…but that seemed rather anticlimactic).
Additionally, this was just supposed to be a one-shot. However, over the course of writing this, I sort of got some ideas to continue the story for another few chapters. XD; If you'd like to see more "RESIDENT Fantasy Tactics" just say so in whatever review you give me, although somehow I doubt anyone will want any more.