A/N~ *sings* I'm back! And I'm ready to make this the best chapter ever! *cough cough* Well, I'm going to attempt it anyway. Sorry it took so long. No I didn't get bored, so don't think that's it. I've had a lot going on. I'm an Army chicka now. (Woohoo!) Anyway…. Here goes:
The Second Black Waltz
"What are you doing?" Dagger asked as she watched Zidane push against the side of the box. They had been trapped in this box for nearly five minutes and already it was getting hard to breathe.
"I'm trying to knock it over. Push against the side with me," he told them.
Vivi and Dagger pressed their shoulders against the same side of the box Zidane was and pushed. The box fell, shattering against the ground. Somewhere along the line they had gotten moved outside. They were at the edge of the village now, boxes were piled all around, and sometime while they were underground an airship had arrived.
"There you are!" came a shout. They looked up to see Marcus, Blank, and Cinna hurrying towards them.
"What have you guys been doing? We've been looking all over for you," Blank said.
"There're some weird things going on around here. The adults are all working in a factory underground. They mistook Vivi for one of the weird dolls they're manufacturing down there, so me and Dagger had to go save him," Zidane replied.
Cinna opened his mouth to say something but stopped and instead looked at something over Zidane's shoulder.
"Princess…you will come with me," a voice said from behind him.
Zidane turned to see the Black Waltz he had fought in the Ice Cavern. Or was it? It looked a little different.
"Not you again," Zidane said.
"You've seen this before?" Dagger asked, looking at him in surprise.
The Black Waltz shook his head, "You fought and defeated Black Waltz #1. I am Black Waltz #2 and I will not be defeated so easily. You will give up the Princess now or prepare to die."
Zidane pulled out his twin daggers, "Over my dead body."
The Black Waltz changed his hold on his spear to a fighting position, "My pleasure."
In unison the Black Waltz and Zidane lunged at each other slashing faster than Dagger could blink. After they hit the ground again they didn't move for several heartbeats, the Black Waltz fell to the ground and disappeared. Zidane grinned then dropped to one knee, a bloody slash across his chest.
"Zidane!" Dagger cried, running up to kneel beside him. If something happened to him she didn't know what she'd do.
"It's nothing," he told her, "Just a scrape."
She ignored him, placing her hands along the cut. Blood trickled through her fingers, but she didn't care. Closing her eyes in concentration, white light engulfed her hands and spread across his chest, then vanished, along with the cut. The ripped, blood covered shirt the only evidence that there had once been a slash there.
"Thank you," he said, getting to his feet. He held out his hand to help her up, which she accepted with a smile and blush, which did not go unnoticed by Blank, Cinna, and Marcus.
"Maybe we shouldn't have left them alone this morning," Cinna joked.
"I wonder if they were really sleeping or in fact waiting for us to all leave," Marcus said with a laugh.
"I think they need a chaperone with them to make sure that they aren't getting too attached, if you know what I mean," Blank added.
At that the trio burst out laughing. Zidane and Dagger both turned red and Vivi was torn between sympathy for them and amusement.
"Where do you think this airship is heading?" Zidane asked loudly to change the subject.
"I don't know," Cinna, the first to recover, replied wiping his eyes.
"Why don't we just get on and see," Dagger suggested, anxious to get out of there. She had had enough excitement for one day. Now she just wanted to get to Lindblum and take her little vacation from there.
One by one they filed up the ladder and entered the airship. Almost immediately the airship kicked to life as if it had been waiting for them to get on.
"Well, I guess that settles that," Cinna said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.
No one replied as they were to busy watching the figures moving rapidly around the ship without even passing a glance at the intruders.
"They're moving…" Dagger said in surprise.
Vivi took a few small steps forward, staring enraptured at the moving dolls. After a moment of hesitation he seemed to have come to a decision. He walked up to the nearest doll, "Excuse me…"
The doll walked away as if it hadn't heard him. Vivi stared after it for a few seconds then followed, "Hello?"
Once again the doll walked away from him. This time, however, Vivi did not go after him. Instead he turned and walked back to the small group of people he had arrived with.
"They move, but I don't think they're really alive…" Cinna said.
Zidane shook his head, "I guess I better go see where this ship is heading."
He walked past the dolls, who acted as if they didn't see him, and climbed the ladder built onto the far wall. As soon as he reached the deck he looked around. Near the bow of the stern of the airship there was a cabin-like structure with large glass windows. Inside he could see one of the strange dolls steering the ship. He walked to the bow and looked over the side. From the way they were moving he knew they were heading for Alexandria…the complete opposite direction of the way he wanted to go.
"Looks like we're going to have to hijack the ship," Zidane said with a smile. He felt the old bandit attitude he harbored before meeting Garnet rise to the surface. He walked to the glass cabin and entered it. The smell of mist was strong here because the structure also held part of the mist engine.
The doll acted as if it didn't notice his presence. Zidane stood there for a moment, thoughtfully coming up with the best way to hijack the airship. He glanced around and saw that the others had not come up from below. "No reason to show off then…oh well. I guess plain and simple will just have to do." That said to no one in particular he walked up and gently pushed the doll out of the way and took hold of the wheel, then proceeded to turn the ship around and head towards Lindblum.
After about five minutes the rest of the group came up to see what was going on. Everyone but Zidane and Dagger were standing on the deck staring out at the vast stretches of land far below them. The doll that Zidane had stolen the wheel from stood quietly to one side of the cabin watching him steer it. From the blank look in it's eyes it was either unaware that the ship had been hijacked or it didn't care. This was fine with Zidane because he didn't really feel up to any more excitement today. He just wanted to deliver Dagger safely to Lindblum. Well…he wouldn't mind a little more alone time with her. Perhaps when they got to Lindblum…
"Are we heading the right way?" Dagger asked.
Zidane nodded, "We were heading for Alexandria, but I turned the ship around. Want to steer it for a minute?"
Dagger looked surprised, a hint of color coming to her cheeks, "I couldn't. I don't know how."
"Come here and I'll show you," Zidane said, lifting one hand from the wheel for her to take. She smiled, and he marveled at how it lit up her face and made her look like a goddess of legend. Oh, how he wanted her then. She took his hand and he gently pulled her to stand in front of him and placed her hands on the wheel where his had been just seconds before and placed his around her waist, "All you have to do is hold the wheel steady."
"That shouldn't be too hard," she said, glancing back at him with the same bright smile. It lit up her chestnut colored eyes and threatened to arouse him.
"It's a shame…" he said softly.
"What is?" she asked.
"That it's not a challenge for you. Maybe I can fix that." That said he began to nibble gently on her ear while moving his hands up toward her wonderfully full breasts. She gasped as he kissed his way to her neck and slid his hands down her bodice, gently kneading her breasts with his hands.
"Zidane…." she said softly, not daring to take her hands off the wheel when what her body was screaming for her to do was turn around and return the favor. She could feel the bulge of his erection pressing against her back. She wanted to feel him thrusting deep inside her. If only…
Suddenly a huge explosion rocked the ship, breaking her from her thoughts. Zidane's grip tightened painfully in his attempt to keep her from falling over. The wheel spun dangerously, and the ship swerved sharply to the right, sending many of the occupants falling to the floor.
"Are you okay Dagger?" Zidane asked, his tone worried.
"Yes. I'm fine," she replied, though she didn't feel fine. Her heart hammered in her chest. Something horrible was about to happen.
"Good. Stay here and steer the ship. Take it right through the South Gate. Whatever happens, don't let it get off track," he said, before rushing out onto the deck. The rest of his companions had managed to pull themselves to their feet.
"What the hell was that?" Cinna asked.
Blank, the closest to the port edge looked over the side. A huge smoking hole had been blown into the side, "We've been shot at."
"By who?" Marcus asked, "There's no one out here but us."
"That's where you'd be wrong."
Descending from the sky came a disgustingly familiar sight. Blue shocks of electricity ran across its body, but the Waltz was still alive.
"Don't you guys ever just give up?" Zidane asked.
The Waltz however did not get the chance to answer, for at that moment a swarm of the formally uncaring dolls came up the ladder to stand in between the Waltz and Zidane and his companions.
"Well, well. Isn't this interesting? It seems this batch is defective. I suppose I better get rid of them," the Waltz said, lifting his left hand. A ball of black light formed around his hand and shot the dolls. It hit the one in the center and exploded outwards, sending them all tumbling over the edge.
Vivi ran to the edge looking horrified. They were so like him and he had so many things he wanted to ask them. This was the first time they had actually reacted to something around them, and he had hoped that he would have the chance to find out something from them, and now that had been ripped away from him. A worn hat from one of the dolls drifted to land at his feet. It was slightly scorched from the explosion but had managed to escape mostly unscathed.
His eyes held the hat for several long moments; anger surging through him and raising to the surface with such intensity it scared him. And then something inside him snapped. The air around him shimmered with blue light and a force so strong formed within him that the air around him trembled. He let it grow stronger for several moments before releasing it at the Black Waltz. It hit him square in the chest and knocked him over the bow edge. Zidane ran to the edge and watched him fall toward the ground before turning and staring at Vivi in awe. The kid was a lot stronger than he let on.
"What the hell…?" Marcus breathed and stared at the mage in wonder. A lot of things hadn't made sense since they had been dragged into this mess and they just kept getting weirder as time passed.
Once more an explosion rocked the ship sending them sprawling to the hard wooden deck. Dagger had been knocked to the floor and the wheel spun out of control. She got to her feet and fought to get the ship back on course.
"Gods damn, this thing will not die!" Zidane yelled as he caught sight of the Black Waltz in pursuit of them. It flew faster than they could imagine, quickly gaining on the airship and raising itself so it had a clear shot at Vivi.
"Look out!" Zidane cried as the Waltz once more conjured light around his hand and took aim at Vivi.
"I claim revenge!" The Waltz said, and used its attack.
And just when it seemed that all would be lost, salvation came for Vivi. "Get down!" Blank yelled and pushed him to the ground, catching the attack in his side. His eyes widened in surprise. Several startled cries rang from around the deck as the force of the attack pushed him over the edge. Blank was gone. In two days, two members of Tantalus were lost.
So shocked, were the remaining members of Tantalus and Vivi that they didn't notice that as they shot through the quickly closing South Gate, the Black Waltz slammed into the steel door and exploded.