I'm BAAAAAACK ^_^
Kacey-chan They can see that.
Heh. Right. Anwaiz! My inspiration for this story suddenly sky rocketed! Good news, eh?
Kacey-chan *inaudible mumble*
-__-; Well, I thought so! Point being, I typed up another chapter for you all, in which the plot starts to roll a little better, and one of my favorite characters in introduced! ^_^ Oh yes, and just to remind you, this is an AU, so some of the characters won't always act the way they would in the game. That aside, enjoy!
Kacey-chan We do not own Final Fantasy IX.
*_* Kacey-chan! You acknowledged me! *hugs*
Kacey-chan Get...off...me.....X_X
Chapter Two
Located in the slums of Lindblum's once grand Theater District was a magnificent artifact from the Regency's history of fine performing groups: the Prima Vista. The airship was a beauty to behold; her pure mahogany construction and archaic furnishings holding a position of value to those who cherished such works of art. Though in serious need of maintenance in some areas (such as the cracking polish and rusty engines), the ship still sailed smoothly, even if it was a rare thing for the theater troop that owned her ever to actually fly her.
Indeed, the ship was in a more or less state of retirement now, but she still served a worthy purpose as home to Tantalus, the group that enlisted her services as a transportation and as setting for one of their less than famous plays and performances.
The Prima Vista was also an illegal hideaway for non-humans; a safe haven swaddled in secrecy and bribes. Baku, the leader of Tantalus, was not of the charitable sort, but still allowed three non-humans sanctuary within the vast expanses of his air ship.
One of these such non-humans was Zidane Tribal.
After saving the Burmecian from certain death (or much worse), the sixteen-year-old Genome found his way back to the Prima Vista, or, as it was called, Stowaway; a play on words, considering it was an airship concealing a group of fugitives.
As he dropped onto the balcony with Freya Crescent limp in his arms, Zidane quickly glanced around, looking for a watchful eye. There was no one there as far as he could see, so he darted into the depths of the ship, and, after transferring the injured woman onto his back and using his tail to hold her there, scaled the many ladder leading into the loft.
"Zidane! You're back!" An amethyst-haired little girl bounced up from her sitting position underneath a small candle lit lantern, where she had been reading a text book, and skipped over to him. She tilted her head sideways upon sighting Freya, and made a face. "Uncle Baku's gonna be mad at you. He told you to stop brining in strays!"
He set the rat woman on a blanket nearby and grinned at her. "You're just jealous because there's another woman in the house now," he nodded knowingly, "You want me all to yourself, don't cha Eiko? Can't say I blame you..."
The six year old stuck her tongue out, wrinkling her nose. "Ewww! That's be like dating my brother! Besides," she sniffed haughtily and stuck her nose in the air, "you're not my type."
He winked. "I'm too old for you anyway. I can't believe you'd even think about me like that, Eiko! It's disgusting!"
"Why you!" she planted her fists firmly on her hips, as she often did when angry. "You're worse than a brother! You're....you're...."
"Extremely handsome and witty, I know, I know," he said, not missing a beat. "Anyway," he nodded his head at Freya, "she needs help. Her leg is broken."
Eiko's brow knitted in concern as she knelt next to Freya, studying the broken appendage. "It snapped in half. You have to set it before I can heal it." Though they disagreed about adding to their little 'family', Eiko would never let another non-human suffer. Especially not when she could help.
Zidane nodded. In a world where everyone was your enemy, he had learned quickly how to set broken legs. Working deftly, he popped the bone back into place with a small crunching noise, to which Eiko winced and Freya moaned softly. The girl set to work at once, holding her hands out before her over the limb. A sparkling blue and white light surrounded her fingertips, the white magic forming a healing dome over the leg.
She did this three times before rocking back on her heels. "She should be okay now. What did you say her name was?"
"Freya Crescent." Zidane recalled, and he stood, a hand to his chin in thought. "I wonder what a Dragon Knight could be doing in Lindblum?"
"One could wonder what two Genomes and a Summoner could be doing in Lindblum, you know," a soft voice said from behind them.
They both turned. Before them stood a man, older than Zidane by a few years, though quite obviously related; both had a Genome's tail and bright, azure eyes. However, where Zidane's hair was sunshine blond, the newcomer's was untainted silver, and hung midway down his back in a loose ponytail. His lunar pale skin stood out livid next to the black of his garb; loose slacks and a tight, silk poet shirt, top unbuttoned, with laced cuffs and collar. Though assuredly male, the man's physique was slightly feminine; his waist curved delicately and his features appeared soft and smooth. Unlike the callused, sun kissed body of Zidane, this fellow appeared to be untouched by the world around him. He smiled lightly at his brother Zidane, and their sort of adopted sister, Eiko.
Zidane grinned. "Kuja!"
"Yay! You're home! So what's for dinner?" Eiko asked happily, skipping up to him.
Kuja winced slightly, looking apologetic. "I'm afraid I wasn't able to get much. They've tightened security around here, and all our donators have either been arrested or banned from the city." He produced a small, scarlet apple from the satchel at his waist and held it out before them, almost guiltily. "This was all I could manage. Let's hope Tantalus faired better."
Zidane and Eiko grimaced, their stomachs growling louder, as if to remind them that the members of Tantalus wouldn't be back until well after midnight; the odd jobs the group worked around in the Business district paid fairly well, enough to hold the deeds to the Prima Vista, but the hours were long, often leaving Zidane, Eiko, and Kuja alone for days on end, without food save for the morsels they managed to scrounge up.
The silver haired Genome placed the apple on the small wooden table in the center of the room, and glanced about for a knife to slice the fruit into three halves....Then he groaned inwardly as he saw the one thing he didn't want nor need to see at the moment.
Make that four halves, he thought to himself with a mental sigh. Tiredly rubbing the bridge of his nose, Kuja asked, "Where did you find her, Zidane?"
Looking like the child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, the younger Genome replied, "On the streets around Business District--"
"Business District?" Kuja started, accusing cerulean gaze staring down at his brother much like a father to his son. "Zidane, you're not to go there! I thought that was clear. It's very-"
"Dangerous, I know. You've only said it a thousand times." Zidane interrupted sulkily.
"If you've heard me warn you about the Business District that many times, brother, then that just makes me even more disappointed in you." As he gave his reprimand, Kuja used a small penknife to divide the apple up into even, though very meager, slices. Eiko gobbled hers up in three seconds flat, then was content to sit and listen to her 'brother' get admonished.
"What were you doing out there, anyway?" Kuja went on, taking a small bite off his own share of apple. Then he shook his head, locks of silver catching the candle light. "Let me guess. You met a girl."
Sweating now, Zidane managed a sheepish grin, "Well...I...uh...If you put it that way...."
Kuja fixed him with his most piercing stare. "One of these days, Zidane, we shall hang in the dungeons of Lindblum because of your ridiculous infatuation with women."
To his credit, Zidane chuckled, a sparkle in his azure eyes, despite the glare he was receiving. "What can I say? They just can't resist me."
"I'd say they probably just want to turn you in for the reward," a quiet voice remarked. Zidane turned around...
"Freya!"
The red-clad guest was now quite awake and sitting up, her carriage an image of perfection though she had just been through quite an ordeal; it was to be expected of a Dragon Knight, though. She watched them with amused curiosity, a slight sparkle in her shaded eyes. "Though I am glad you decided to risk your life for this courtship, else I wouldn't be alive."
"You should just be grateful that Zidane is a big softie," Eiko crowed, ignoring the glare the blond in question sent her way.
"I am not a softie!" he protested, tail swishing back and forth in irritation. "I just can't sit by and watch while someone is in trouble; it goes against my nature."
Eiko giggled slightly, sticking her tongue out in his direction, ever so much the six year old. "You mean you can't sit by and watch while a woman's in trouble." Zidane growled playfully and Eiko shrieked in mock terror, running behind Kuja who merely rolled his eyes in way of response.
Freya, even if she was being spoken of as if she weren't present, was much enjoying the two bicker, and found herself chuckling for the first time in a very long while. She gestured at the violet haired child; Eiko skipped over to sit cross-legged by her side, looking curiously at the Dragon Knight. "What is your name, little one?"
"Eiko Carol-Tribal," she answered promptly; it was clear she was proud to be considered a little sister to the two Genomes, no matter how she acted. "And your name is Freya, right?"
The woman nodded, "I am Freya, yes. And if I heard right, you were the one who healed my leg. However did you manage it?" Freya lifted the appendage and marveled at the smooth flesh and unbroken bone beneath. When she had awakened, the lack of pain was the first thing she noticed, and though it was slightly numb at first, the feeling was slowly flooding back. This was most definitely not the work of splints and braces; only magic could do this sort of long-lasting and instant repair.
Eiko thumped her chest importantly. "I'm a White Mage! Healing a broken leg is no sweat for my powers!" Zidane cleared his throat pointedly, and Eiko scowled, adding grudgingly, "Okay, well, Zidane helped....a little. So how does it feel?"
"Wonderful," Freya said truthfully, marveled by this girl, who couldn't be more than six, that could utilize White magic in such a manner. There were a scant few who were blessed by the old ways, and an even fewer number who were pure enough to wield the holy brand of sorcery. She herself possessed no such gift, and always envied those who did. "I thank you very much, Eiko."
"You're welcome!" she said brightly, obviously proud of herself.
Kuja, silent and watchful as ever, spoke for the first time, and Freya caught his ice blue gaze with her own. His voice was soft, and his tone was unreadable as he asked, "Are you hungry, Ms. Freya?"
She turned down the offered slice of apple, noticing the meager rations with a small grimace. "No, thank you; I seem to have lost my appetite. Eiko can have my slice."
The amethyst haired girl snatched up the fruit happily, then mumbled what could have been "thanks!" around chewing and smacking. Freya couldn't help but smile at the spirit that lay within the child, when she lived a world where spirits were broken on a daily basis. Clearly, the moral of the lower classes of Gaia wasn't as hopeless as she had thought--children had a way of keeping such faith, more so than the callused adults around them.
You can never be beaten if you never give up, Freya. Believe, and one day we will be free....
The words drifted through her mind, and Freya nearly jumped in remembrance. That phrase, along with many others of the same message, was frequently spoken by the wisest man she'd even known. A man that, despite the dangers of the world around them, had completely devoted himself to her. A man she loved dearly.
And a man that was depending on her to return with the very thing she had come to Lindblum to get. Freya nearly panicked, realizing that her parcel might have been damaged or lost in her escape. Then a sigh escaped her; the familiar weight of the package inside her pocket put to rest that heart stopping notion.
Still, she was losing time. Although saddened by the thought of having to leave the friendly trio of stowaways, the Burmecian Knight knew it was time for her to go, especially now that she did not have to travel on a broken leg. Freya slowly climbed to her feet, and faced Zidane with a serious expression. "I thank you all very much for the kindness and hospitality you have shown a complete stranger. Very few are left in this land that care to show such compassion for others. However, I'm afraid I must depart from your fine company."
Eiko, having finished her apple by this time, scampered to her side, a look of disappointment on her cherubic face. "Awww, you have to leave already? And I was just getting used to you!"
A small grin tugged at the corner of Kuja's mouth at this statement. "What she's trying to say is that we're sorry to hear that, Ms. Freya. Although if you ever need a place to stay, we would not object."
"He must really like you if he invites you to come back," Zidane teased, smiling charmingly as he offered her his arm. "May I show you the way out, ma'am?"
"That's Freya to you, monkey-boy."
"Hey!"
At this point, all laughter was cut off as several loud bangs could be heard from the floors beneath them; judging from the minute vibrations that shivered the old ship's wooden planks, the sounds were levels beneath them, perhaps in the conjoined apartment that housed her owners. Several seconds later, the noise of many rumbling voices drifted up to the small loft.
Kuja, Zidane, and Eiko all tensed; Kuja's tail twitched nervously, and Zidane's hand inched towards the dagger strapped to his waist. Eiko, suddenly much closer to her blond brother--she clung anxiously to his pant leg--whispered Freya's unspoken question, "Tantalus shouldn't be back this early..." Though the Dragon Knight wasn't sure who Tantalus was exactly, she was sure that whoever had decided to enter their home was not going to take their presence lightly.
With her leg stinging in remembrance, the Knight instinctively reached for a weapon that wasn't there--her sensitive hearing had picked up a couple scattered words from the intruders below, and they were definitely not coming for a courtesy call. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind now.
They had been found.
"What do we do?" Zidane muttered harshly, shooting a terse look at his older brother, searching for direction.
The silver haired man waved him into silence. "Hush. Don't move."
Not a breath was heard in the next few seconds; the sounds of ever approaching footsteps echoed thunderously in the ears of all present. The unmistakable crash of porcelain and raucous laughter joined in the noise, and finally, the click click click as several pairs of booted feet made their way up the loft's ladder.
"Go away.....go away....please, go away...." Eiko mumbled to herself in a mantra, clinging ever tighter to her brother. With one hand, Zidane laid a hand upon the girl's amethyst haired head, gently steering her behind him; the other hand slowly unsheathed his dagger.
Then the door to the loft exploded outward with force enough to splinter the wood into shards of flying shrapnel, and a dozen or more of the Lindblum Night Watchmen and their magical counterparts swarmed in, each bearing glinting steel or with their hands poised in spell casting position. The most decorated of the group took a slight step forward and commanded in a bellowing voice, "Stop in the name of the Regent! By order of the Grand Regency Lindblum, we have been ordered to apprehend you non-human filth. Resist and be eliminated!"
"Like hell we will!" Zidane roared, and with a cry that sounded like a cross between a growl and a screech, jumped into the crowd of unsuspecting officers, dagger flashing murderously. Several went down with bloody rents in their flesh, unable to match the inhuman speed and agility of the tailed figure, before the mages began chanting up a spell for fire and destruction. This was quickly put to a stop by a swirling stream of a blue and white energy that swept through three of their number, felling them instantly.
Freya shot Kuja a shocked glance, having been unaware that the pale Genome was able to cast magic as well, but quickly got over her surprise when a Watchman charged her. With the precise timing of a Dragon Knight, Freya leapt high into the air just before she would have been impaled on the outstretched steel, and came crashing down again on the hapless swordsman, crushing his skull instantly. The man's sword lay at his side, and Freya grimaced as she picked up its bulky weight--she disliked using swords of any kind, and the weaponry of the Night Watchmen were especially cumbersome.
Something skittered into her line of sight across the hardwood floor, and Freya swore. Zidane's dagger lay at her feet not four feet away, rendering it useless to the now weaponless Genome. Frantically, she searched for her blond headed companion, and swore again--Zidane was corned by three of the watchmen, all of whom had swords leveled at his throat. But even as Freya charged forward, newly acquired weapon in hand, Zidane kicked out with lightning speed, felling two of the guards to the ground with a tremendous crash and tripping up the third. Unfortunately, the man wasn't quite as disoriented as was thought, and took a wild swing at Zidane's retreating form--Freya winced in sympathy as the razor sharp tip slashed a painful looking cut along the blond boy's ribs. There would have been one less Genome in the world if Freya hadn't buried her own weapon up to its hilt in the offending man's back. As he dropped with a gurgled cry , Zidane, one hand wrapped around a blooming bloodstain on his white shirt, offered her a grateful smile. "Nice timing. Behind you!"
The rat woman spun, wrenching her sword from the corpse at her feet and gutting a charging soldier in one neat motion, then turned back to Zidane. "Looks like you weren't fast enough, monkey-boy," she said, nodding her head at his wound.
"Believe me, they're gonna pay. They ruined by best shirt!" He quipped, then swiftly ducked as a solider lunged at him, sending the human sprawling into Freya's waiting blade. The blond Genome shot a poisonous look at the now quite decapitated man. "These idiots just don't give up."
"Well, it appears that we're winning, nonetheless," Freya replied after a quick glance around the loft; indeed, the number of Lindblum soldiers was severely depleted, while the body count of the humans had increased. Those that remained eyed the exit to the loft with panic growing in their eyes. "I think this battle is--"
Her declaration of victory was cut short by a shrill scream of a terrified child.
All motion stopped for a brief second as all three non-humans looked away from their respective battles and stared, horror struck, at Eiko, held by one of the officers in an iron grip, a sword to her throat. The amethyst haired child's eyes were wide with horror, but she made not so much as a twitch in the arms of her captor. Her lips formed only two, silent words: "Help me!"
Growling low in his throat, Zidane made a move forward; though he was without a weapon, he was prepared to disembowel the man by hand if he so much as hurt one hair on the girl's head.
"D-Don't move!" The officer cried, the hand that held the deadly blade to Eiko's unprotected throat trembling violently. Clearly, the man was young--he hadn't been expecting such a ferocious battle to ensue after attacking the "weak, pathetic freaks" he had been told about. "If you take one s-step nearer, I s-swear I'll kill her!"
"Release her." Kuja demanded, though he did not move. "She is just a child."
"Touch her and you die." Zidane hissed, unable to remain as calm as his brother.
The soldier began backing up, dragging Eiko with him, heading towards the loft's exit. "S-stay where you are! Stay back!" One booted foot clanked loudly on the wooden step....then again...and again...until the man was halfway down the stairwell, barely visible. It was then that Eiko cried out, her fear of being captured overtaking her panic. "Zidane! Kuja! Help me!"
The blond haired Genome twitched, longing to do just that, but Freya held him back. In all the confusion of Eiko being held hostage, the brothers had failed to notice that they were still surrounded by at least seven Lindblum soldiers, not counting the one that held Eiko. If either one of them were to make any sort of threatening move, they'd all find themselves on the sharper side of several lethal blades.
Freya only prayed that Zidane had realized this as well. She glanced over at him, intending to warn him against offensive actions, but he wasn't looking at her. He and Kuja were sharing what looked like a meaningful glance--Zidane looked determined, while Kuja looked pained, drawn between two very difficult choices.
A few seconds later, action exploded inside the small loft, and Freya found out just what choice the silver haired Genome had made.
Everything happened in a flash. A blur of yellow and white--Zidane--rushed forward, barreling through the stunned line of soldiers, heading for Eiko and her captor. In almost the exact same moment, Kuja was at her side, grabbing her arm in a vice like grip as he propelled them both out of the window; glass shattered in all directions, shredding their cloths and falling around them in a shower of glittering shards. Metal raced up from below; Freya turned her head away, expecting to splatter on the hard grating of the cat walk, but Kuja's strong arms were still around her, and there was only a slight jolt as he hit the surface and rebounded into a soaring jump, high enough for Freya to catch one fleeting glimpse of the loft.
It was empty.
The end! For now, in any case. I love Kuja! He so...so....well, he's Kuja! ^_^;; Of course, I could never like anyone better than kawaii little ZidZids (Zidane). What do you think of them, Kacey-chan?
Kacey-chan -_-zzzzzz
*sniffles* She doesn't appreciate anything I do....oh well, I hope you all liked the chapter more than her *jabs thumb at snoozing Kacey* Please feel free to leave helpful comments in your review! I will appreciate it!