A/N: This fic is coming along better than I planned. I thought I'd never get past the 5th
chapter...but heeeeeeeeere's No. 6!
Disclaimer: Gahhh! I want to own FF very badly. But someone with a lot more money
than me does. So no, I don't own it.
Chapter VI:
Manhunt
Dagger ran through the streets of Lindblum, frantically searching for a way to get to
the castle. She needed to talk to Cid. But, all the guards she had dealt with so far had
told her one of two things-he wasn't there, or he didn't want to see anyone right now.
Someone is passing along a lot of misinformation, she thought. I need to find out
what's really going on. Before she knew it, she was at the Business Air Cab Station.
"Where are you heading?" the attendant asked, seeming to be blissfully unaware of
whom she was. "Lindblum Castle," she replied, bowing gracefully. "Very well. If you're
going anywhere outside of Lindblum afterwards, be careful...there've been reports of
Mist monsters popping up everywhere," the attendant replied. "Thank you," Dagger
told him as she boarded the air cab. The attendant smiled-a little coldly? -and when the
cab was gone, he quickly ran to the nearest alley to report his findings to Garland...
Orion descended the stairs to enter the Throne Room, accompanied by Zidane and
Quina, who had-unsurprisingly-popped out of nowhere a few hours before. When they
arrived in the room, everyone present-that is to say, most of Gaia's leaders, minus
Dagger-were there. And all of them looked highly agitated. Regent Cid stepped
forward, extending his hand to Zidane. Zidane shook it lightly, then sat at the huge
table in the center of the room. As soon as he took his seat, however, the room erupted
into hysteria. People shouting to be heard, pushing, shoving, and fighting to speak with
the King of Alexandria. Amidst all the chaos, Orion stood on the huge table, screaming,
"Enough!" All the heads turned to look at him. "Who in the bloody hell are you?!" a
Burmecian who looked oddly like Sir Fratley demanded. "You aren't Zidane!" "No, but
he has just as much authority as I do right now, so listen to him as though you were
listening to me," Zidane interrupted. "We need everyone to cooperate. And I do mean
everyone," he continued, glaring at the man who had dissed Orion. "Thanks, Zidane.
Now," the younger Genome began, "we have what you would call a major crisis on our
hands, in case you haven't noticed. Terra has reemerged. And," he continued, looking
at the few skeptical faces in the room, "Garland is back." Again, the room erupted into
chaos. "What?! You're fucking crazy! Garland can't possibly be back!" "'Oo iz dis
Garland? I 'ave no idea wat yoo're saying..." "I knew it. This is the end..." Finally,
Zidane spoke up. "Hey! HEY!!!! Calm down! Damnit, I just said..." "Wait, Zidane. I
know how to handle this. Watch and learn," Orion said, grinning mischievously. Oh
gods, Orion, what are you up to this time? Zidane thought, but before he could say
anything, Orion began glowing red and white, and in a matter of seconds, he had
become Kuja once again...
Dagger stormed down the main corridor of Lindblum Castle, still looking for her Uncle
Cid. Damnit, where is he?! I should've never left Alexandria, she thought. Finally
deciding to rest (she hadn't slept in fifteen hours), she sat down on a bench not far from
the conference room and thought. A few minutes later, she had dozed off. Unbeknownst
to her, a man waited in the shadows for her to drop into unconsciousness. As soon as
she was asleep, he crept up unnoticed beside her, picked her up lightly, and was gone in
a flash.
"Hahaha...this is perfect. The perfect leverage against those fools," Garland gloated
while several black mages (A/N: I'll explain later...) were tying Dagger down. Out of
nowhere, he heard a scream. Whirling, he noticed that the Alexandrian queen was
fighting her bonds. "Ah-ah-ah, my queen," Garland scolded as he strode up to her. "We
can't have this unruliness. It's simply not ladylike." "Go to hell, Garland! I wish Kuja
had really killed you five years ago!" she screamed in rage. Did I just stick up for
Kuja?! she thought. "Do you now? I thought you loathed him," Garland replied. "Yeah,
but not nearly as much as I loathe you! At least Kuja's trying to make up for his
mistakes! You're just making them all over again!" she fired back at the ancient
sorcerer. "That...is where you're wrong, Garnet," he replied, motioning to the
darkness. A long, insect-like creature emerged, hissing and clicking as it approached
the young queen. "This...is my newest creation, Garnet. Say hello to my little friend,
the GX-275, otherwise known as...the Creeper." "What is that thing?!" Dagger cried
as it began to crawl onto her. "Oh, it's a little something that I want to use on Zidane
and the others when they get here, but for now I'll just use you as a test subject,"
Garland snapped. As if on cue, the creature sunk its appendages into her skin. She
screamed in pain, but it was only for a second. For she had passed out from shock, or
so it seemed...."Hmm," the Terran overseer mused, gazing at Dagger's limp form.
"Not exactly what I had in mind, but maybe it's because she gave in too quickly.
Hopefully, Zidane and Orion will be made of sterner stuff than this..."
/Good. This'll get their attention,/ Orion said as he/Kuja stood in the throne room. At
first, people just stared, mostly in fear. Then, the Burmecian delegate (A/N: We'll just
call all the people from the countries 'delegates' from here on out) spoke up. "No way.
Are you really....Kuja?" he asked, surprise and bemusement on his face. "That I am,
my friend," Kuja replied, grinning. "You are probably all wondering as to why and how
I am standing before you now, five years after my death at the Iifa Tree. Well, that's
another story for another time, and I'll tell you, if we survive," he continued. "But rest
assured-I am here to help you all this time." Several of the delegates looked at Zidane
reproachfully. "Is this true, Your Highness? Is Kuja really on our side?" a Cleyran
delegate asked him. Zidane nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, he's with us. Orion and him
are kind of sharing the same body. But like my brother said, that's another story for
another time..." He looked around the room, gazing at each of the delegates' faces.
There was pure silence for about three minutes. Then, the Throne Room burst into
cheers and applause. Cid was, uncharacteristically, the loudest amongst the crowd.
"Yeah! Now Garland won't stand a chance. We're gonna annihilate him!" the regent
cried with a triumphant whoop. Zidane smiled to himself. This was the kind of spirit they
needed. He whistled to get their attention. "Now look," he began. "I just heard a few
hours ago where Garland is. He's on Terra. So," he continued, before anyone could
stop him, "Orion/Kuja and myself are taking the Invincible to the Shimmering Island to
go back to Terra. It's being serviced now as I speak. We'll be ready to go in about...ten
minutes. Anyone who wants to go, can...but I'm not taking bets on whether you come
back or not, because you might not. But I'm going to get one thing clear: This ends
now." Everyone in the room was silent as Zidane finished his little speech. Kuja bowed
to his brother, then said, "I'm going back. Orion's going to take over for now," and with
a flash, Orion was back. "Alright, whoever's going with us, step forward," the younger
Genome stated, motioning with his hands. "Everyone else can wait for us. Or you can
go home. Whatever Zidane wants you to do." Zidane nodded, grinning. I'll have him
made into a general for sure, he thought. "Everyone who's going, follow me!" he cried,
and Cid, the Burmecian, Cleyran, and Mage Vilage delegates followed, all armed to the
teeth. The makeshift party soon arrived at the castle's Airship Dock, where the
gleaming Invincible waited. Sensing Zidane's approach, a ramp lowered automatically.
The party boarded the warship, and it came to life. The engines roared as they came
online. Zidane ran through a few pre-flight checks, then they were off. As they sped
towards the Shimmering Island, he heard Orion mutter, "Let the manhunt begin...You
won't get away with this, Garland."
Amie woke up to an empty room. "Orion?" she called, getting no response. Good, she
thought as she began to glow a deep blue. I don't need him to see this...My magic'll
soon be powerful enough for me to take Garland on single-handedly, and he doesn't
need to be around when it happens... Picking up her long staff, she exited the room in a
bright blue flash.
A/N: This is the longest chappie yet (12 pages, whooo hooo!) Anyways, I don't really
plan on doing much else with this until I get more reviews (but I might change my mind).
Review please!