A/N: Well...be that as it may, here's the fifth chappie.
And again, special thanks to Kathleen for keeping me motivated to keep this fic going.
Disclaimer: Sorry, no FF ownership today(or ever, knowing my luck). Do you want fries wif that?
Chapter V:
Inferno
/Let's see now,/ Kuja said as Orion paced back and forth through Alexandria Castle's
most luxurious guest bedroom. /Shouldn't we be GOING AFTER GARLAND?!
Instead of sitting here on our collective asses, waiting for him to come and assimilate
Gaia?!/ Orion nodded, but said nothing. /Hey, what's wrong? Was it something I said?/
Kuja wondered. "No, it's just...I'm worried about Amie," the fourth Angel of Death
replied. "She's been really quiet since Garland reappeared." /Yeah. More so than she
normally is,/ Kuja said. /It's kinda got me worried, too./ As if on cue, the monstrous
door to the room was shoved open, and Amie entered. Orion's eyes widened in shock.
For she was covered in blood, with burns and cuts all over her. "What the fuck?! Hey!
Get a medic in here ASAP! Amie's been hurt!" Orion called outside, but recieved no
rsponse. He ran outside to find the corridor empty. Hmm. The guard must have seen
her, he thought. He walked back over to the barely-standing Amie. Taking her hand, he
kissed it, murmering, "Don't worry. I'll take care of this..."
Zidane and Orion watched from outside of the castle's infirmary as Alexandria's best
healers went to work on the fallen form of Orion's fiance. Before she had lost
conciousness, she had whispered, "Silver dragons..." It was this last that now worried
both Genomes, almost more so than the condition of the young mage. "What do you
think? Obviously Garland's hell-bent on assimilating Gaia this time-he's not pulling any
punches," Zidane remarked, noting the stern look on Orion's countenance. /True, but
would he actually go so far as to destroy Gaia? That's more what it seems like than
anything,/ Kuja said. /Even I don't know my creator that well./ "...Hmm. Kuja's got a
point, but still..." Orion muttered, keeping his thoughts to himself. Again, the feeling he
had experienced during the battle with Lyos washed over him, but was gone seconds
later. I've got no clue what the hell that is, but maybe someone does, he thought,
wincing slightly at the pain in his upper arm from where he had been slammed by the
abyssal lightning. As if out of nowhere, Steiner clanked up to the pair, saluting.
"Zidane. Orion. Come quickly. The city...." The knight choked, obviously fighting his
shame and rage. Zidane and Orion looked at each other, then both began running
outside. Zidane, noticing Orion running alongside him, stopped and pushed the younger
Genome back to the infirmary. "You stay here. Amie needs you right now," Zidane told
him. "But what about-'' Orion began. "No. This is my city, I'll handle it," Zidane
interrupted, and before Orion could say another word, he was gone.
Zidane ran through the halls of Alexandria Castle at a leopard's pace; he could feel the
heat of the flames long before he got outside. But the sight was no less diminished.
No... he thought, barely able to hold in his shock. Fire had swept more than three-
quarters of the city's main districts and was continuing to burn. Steiner appeared
beside the youthful king and said, "It started...about fifteen minutes ago. Flames
appeared out of nowhere. People panicked, and so many were killed..." "Did you see
anything else?" Zidane asked him. Steiner continued, painfully. "The few who survived
said that...they saw a...black mage holding a...golden staff..." Zidane could scarcely
believe his ears. Could it have been...Vivi? "No way...Oh, man, this is not good...Vivi,
why? Son of a bitch..." Zidane rambled in this manner for about three minutes, then
turned. "Steiner, I want-'' he began, but noticed something was very odd about the
middle-aged knight. "...Steiner?" he called, worry evident in his voice. About ten feet
away, Steiner sat Indian-style, holding his Excalibur II as if it were a baby, murmuring,
"Don't worry...Daddy'll take care of you...then Mommy will go to Lindblum and boom,
boom, boom!" "Steiner!!!" Zidane cried, but it was too late. He had gone insane...
Orion sat at the edge of Amie's bed, holding her hand and caressing it. He could sense
her life energy fluctuating; she had not responded to any attempts to wake her. And
there isn't a damn thing I can do about it, he thought. /Uh...Orion?/ Kuja said
meekly. /She's not dead, you know. She'll wake up soon./ "Easy for you to say," Orion
remarked. "You're not the one who's built his whole life around her." But, as if on cue,
Amie's eyes fluttered open. "Ugh...do you want fries with that?" she murmured. "Oh,
thank the gods you're back," Orion exclaimed, kissing her gently. "I was so afraid you
were..." "No. Not yet, at least," she reassured him. She tried to sit up, but cried out in
pain due to her wounds. "What happened? How did you get hurt?" Orion asked. "Give
me every detail." "Well...all right. But don't get mad when I tell you...Remember when
I went walking earlier? Well, I left Alexandria for a while. I actually went home, just to
check on our stuff and make sure it didn't get burned up. Well, on the way back..." she
trailed off. "Let me guess, you ran into silver dragons?" Orion quipped. "How did you
know?" Amie asked, surprised. "Because that's the last thing you said before you
collapsed. I kinda did the math from there," her fiance replied, grinning. Before the two
could continue their conversation, however, Zidane appeared, covered in soot and dirt.
"Gods, what the hell happened to you?" Orion asked. "Battles...more
Demonissa...most of the city gone...Steiner's been driven crazy...and Vivi..." Zidane
trailed. "What about Vivi?! Is he okay?" Orion cried. "Oh yeah...he's fine...just not on
our side anymore," the king replied. /WHAAAAT?! My first prototype joined him?!/
Kuja cried. "The hell?! Why did Vivi join Garland?!" Orion demanded. "No one knows,
but Steiner said-before he went off the deep end-that the ones who survived the initial
attack saw a black mage matching his description," Zidane replied. /Well, this really
sucks. He's the second strongest mage I created. We all know who the strongest is, but
still, with him and Garland joined together.../ Kuja couldn't bear to finish, but Zidane
caught his meaning..."We're in huge trouble."
A/N: I know I left some parts out towards the end, and it's shorter than my normal chappies are, but trust me, I'll get to them(the issues) in the next chappie. Or try to. Oh and believe me, you'll find out where Dagger ran off to as well. So stay tuned, and review!