Chapter Two

The Strange Happens

"Okay? You sure you're set?"

Ida refrained a sigh as she looked over at the young soldier. A professional look was etched upon her face, and would probably stay there until the battle ended, whenever it did. She knew she couldn't rely on Lindblum or Alexandrian officials stopping it early; the battle was out of their territory, at the edge of the mountains that were claimed by no kingdom. Nothing but a massive pack of annoyed Yetis could stop them, and it had to be a huge group, at least a thousand individuals, to end it. There was no chance that would happen, and Ida was stuck in a smelly tent in the bitter cold.

"Yes, I am fine. Go back to your regiment," Ida said calmly, waving the young boy away.

"Yes, miss," the soldier replied nervously. He saluted quickly, then dashed out of the tent, more to try and warm himself up than anything else.

The minute the soldier had left, and Ida was left in solitude, she let out an aggravated, bored sigh. Once again she was in a small, useless tent that would not be able to hold all the patients she would surely get. She would use up all her strength trying to heal them and probably pass out halfway through the battle. Many young lives would be lost, and she would be punished for having passed out, even though it wasn't her fault so many injured came that she brought herself to exhaustion. It would be the same mess once again, the same idiotic battle between two dissatisfied families.

More aggravating than that was the fact that Alexandria and Lindblum both simply ignored the fact that the two families were constantly trying to slaughter each other. Ida knew that they were maintaining a "it's none of our business" air, hoping that the families would settle it themselves eventually. Both kingdoms had to know the only way it would be solved was when one family or the other had died, but regardless they kept out of the way. After all, why would they possibly want to disrupt the peace in their kingdom for a "petty family feud"?

Ignorant fools. Too concerned with keeping peace as a whole that they'll allow hundreds to die for a little more peace.

If only "hundreds" wasn't an exaggeration. Over the years, both the Chazpuh and Lycurgus had used their wealth to gather money to raise massive armies consisting of mercenaries, sympathizing families, and young members of their own family. Army numbers had swelled to be more than 300 people fighting on either side. Then the Chazpuh had gotten the swell idea to add monsters to their side, and Lycurgus had followed suit. Now joining the ranks of more than 300 men were a hundred or more Axe Beaks, Ghosts, Carve Spiders, Hedgehog Pies, and any other Mist Continent monster that could be remotely tamed were sent to fight each other. While many died, some would be brought to Ida, who found that most of her energy was spent trying to heal a monster. In the end, she would pass out only more quickly if a monster managed to make it back to her, and many non-monster lives would be lost for one monster to live.

She hated it greatly, but at that moment, had no choice but to deal with it. She got treated much better than she had when she was still a servant. No longer was she given scraps from the table, and no longer was being beaten part of her punishment. She got nice food, decent treatment, and had spells to protect herself from any abuse. Ida knew she probably shouldn't complain as much as she did, but she simply couldn't stand the fighting. It was useless, and so many died for the "cause"!

Yet there she was, sitting on the still-frozen ground at the foot of a massive mountain range that separated Burmecia from the rest of the world. A shabby tent, put up in a hurry, prevented her from seeing anything around her. All she saw was the dreary, aging tent, which was being tossed about by the strong wind. She had medical supplies if her magic didn't need to be wasted, and a small, flute-like wand within her hand, a gorgeous white flower growing out of either end of the white wood. She wore a white cloak with grey stripes streaked along the hood and sleeves over thick wool pants and a heavy wool shirt. The cloak's hood was up in an attempt to keep her head from becoming too cold, and to keep her hair from getting in the way of her work, work that she knew she would have plenty of. For now, all she had to do was survive the boredom and tension that came with sitting on frozen ground in haunting silence.

Off in the distance, Ida heard the distant sound of a Firaga Spell soaring from its owner's safe hands. Seconds later, she heard the explosion caused from that spell finding its target. A soft groan managed to escape her lips; it had begun.

Conleth stayed as still as a petrified tree, his gaze sweeping the rocky plain that had quickly become a battlefield. Desperately he tried to stare beyond the fighting mass, but his attention always went back to the battle. So many people wasting their lives! Hundreds of people were rushing forward, joined by fierce monsters, to die for some idiotic reason. Did they even know what they were fighting for? Did they even care to know? Conleth was sure the answer was "no" to both of those questions. No one could tell him what the reason for the conflict was, and they always asked why he bothered wanting to know. Conleth was certain he was the only person out there who thought that fighting without knowing what you were battling about was foolish.

Regardless, he was out in the battlefield, scanning it for the person he had instructions to kidnap. His staff, a beech staff that ended like a fern's frond, was held in his right hand, hidden partially by his blue cloak. A spell was already set into it, ready for use just in case he was discovered. He knew that if he didn't get it ready beforehand, he may not have the heart to prepare it when he needed it.

A distinct scream filled the air. Conleth immediately looked in the direction of the screech, only to find it belonged to an Axe Beak. It was limping badly, apparently having been attacked by two Lizard men, who were now pursuing the injured creature. Conleth watched as two other Axe Beaks came to help their companion, and the two Lizard Men were distracted. Conleth observed as the Axe Beak began to limp away from the battlefield, toward the north. Immediately Conleth rose and began a quick dash to the north, staying within the rocky, steep ground closest to the mountain's slopes.

The distinct roar of flames caused Conleth to throw himself into the rocky ground, covering his head. He felt the burning heat as a Fira spell soared above him, crashing into a nearby rock and making it explode. Conleth half-crawled, half-ran forward in an attempt to avoid the rocks, only to be hit in the side and knocked into another rock. Groaning with pain, Conleth began to stagger to his feet, only to hear a shrill laugh.

Dammit. A nymph.

Conleth immediately looked up, only to find a small humanoid staring back at him. It had wild blue hair, blue-tinged skin, and blue, scale-like fur covering most of its body. Its legs ended, not in feet, but in root-like structures. Laughing, it spread out its bare arms, staring at Conleth with an innocent yet cold glare. Gritting his teeth, Conleth rushed forward, stumbling over rocks, and, gripping it tightly, sent his staff outward in a wide curve. The nymph merely soared away from the attack, only to find Conleth suddenly changed his tactic and send his staff in a jab right into the nymph's stomach. He then brought the staff downward, sending the nymph, which found itself temporarily stuck on the staff, crashing into the hard, uneven rocks below it.

Not bothering to see if it was unconscious or even alive, Conleth began to run toward the north again, leaving the nymph on the rocks. His side hurt with every breath, and he knew he probably had a nasty bruise, and maybe even a few bruised or broken ribs. It didn't stop the mage from racing across the rocky ground, running past the running troops. Very few noticed his passing, and any who did found themselves too preoccupied with the battle to be concerned with a mage running through.

A hiss-like roar caused Conleth to quicken his pace, though he didn't look back. Conleth recognized the call of a Serpion, and he had no desire to risk being poisoned in the middle of a mission. Thus, he only ran fast, causing him to pant. Behind him, he heard the steady steps of the quadruped Serpion chasing him like a dog fresh on a fox. The footsteps became closer and closer, and Conleth gripped his staff, realizing that he may be forced to use his spell and risk getting pricked by the poisonous creature in the process.

A crow-like croak of a call, and the flapping of wings as something small yet fierce soared over him, brought Conleth some relief. The worry the Serpion caused dissipated when he heard the Serpion hiss with disgust as the Trick Sparrow began to agitate it. That battle would certainly end in the death of the Trick Sparrow, but hopefully it would distract the Serpion long enough for Conleth to get forward. Taking a deep breath, Conleth ran as quickly as he possibly could, pushing his frail body to its limits.

Already a monster injured! What is wrong with these people?

Ida could barely believe that an Axe Beak had already limped its way to her tent. Normally monsters didn't get themselves injured until later, because normally they were released as a last result, in an attempt to win the battle. Apparently this had not been the case this time, since a monster was the first casualty. What was wrong with these people? Didn't they understand that monsters couldn't go up against so many humans without getting seriously hurt? It was an incredible waste of life and power!

Ida had already come up with a way to help the Axe Beak without risking her powers, however. It seemed the creature had gotten hit with hatchets, and its leg wasn't in much danger of anything except bleeding out. Thus, Ida had gotten out her anesthetics and bandages, and was bandaging up the agitated monster's leg. She didn't bother with potions, knowing most monsters either didn't respond at all to them, or had a severe allergic reaction resulting in death. Old-fashioned treatment was best.

"There we go! See, all better," Ida cooed out of habit to the Axe Beak.

The Axe Beak glanced over at Ida with a look that obviously said "I'm not a baby!" Ida couldn't help but smile as she patted the monster on the snout. Not appreciating the attention, the Axe Beak limped away, and settled down near a rock, snorting softly. It kept the smile on Ida's face, as she realized that it hadn't been so hard to treat this first patient. Maybe, if she was lucky, it would stay that easy.

Sighing contently, Ida leaned back against the tent wall, careful not to lean completely into it and cause it to collapse. The Axe Beak's breathing became steadier, and soon it began to snore softly. The battle still raged outside, but still no one came to the tent. It was unusual. Normally Ida would be full of patients. Once the first patient came, they would come in hordes, giving Ida no rest. Yet the Axe Beak's coming had not been followed by a massive amount of injured. There was still no one.

Either we're doing an awesome job winning, or something terribly wrong is going on, Ida thought bitterly, and just then a distinct shout outside shattered her thoughts.

The minute the grey tent came into Conleth's site, the mage allowed himself a rest. Panting heavily, he touched his side lightly to test it, only to nearly double over from pain. It was more than a bruise, Conleth was sure, but he could do nothing about it. He could tell that he was within enemy territory. He heard someone speaking soothingly within the tent, and heard the snort of an Axe Beak. His first assumption was that this was the healer's tent, and that the White Mage was right within the tent. Assuming he was right, Conleth rested in order to prepare himself for raiding the tent.

Seven minutes of him panting with exhaustion, before a shout of surprise and panic behind him made him turn around. He was stunned to see a young man, no older than thirteen, gawking at him with shock. The boy was clutching his left arm with his right hand, which was covered in blood. The young man had gotten injured, and apparently been heading to the healer, only to find an unknown man nearby.

"Not a word," Conleth whispered in the best threatening voice he could manage, aiming his staff at the boy. "Don't say a word."

The boy looked too terrified to do anything. Seconds later, he shouted again with fear and ran back toward the battlefield. Conleth didn't need to even think about what he could possibly be doing. There was only one logical thing the boy could do at that moment, and that was go report the sighting of an unknown person near the healer's tent.

Now Conleth had to move. Taking a deep breath, he scurried over one of the rocks and dashed toward the tent.

"Don't move!"

Conleth and Ida both were silent for a while as they came to the realization that they had said the same thing. They then proceeded to stare at each other, only to find they were doing the same thing as well. Both of them had risen to their feet, and were aiming their staves at each other. The Axe Beak was awake and glaring at Conleth with a threatening gaze, but neither of them noticed the monster. They were too busy being shocked over each other's appearance.

"Who are you?" Ida spat. "Answer!"

"Q-Quiet!" Conleth shouted back. "Don't make a move--"

"Answer my question, moron, or I'll Holy you until you talk," Ida threatened.

Conleth didn't doubt her words, particularly when a white bulb gathered at the tip of her wand. Regardless, he knew he couldn't be intimidated. Taking a deep breath, he commanded the spell on his staff to release.

Suddenly the world became dark and bleak for Ida. She tried to back up, only to find she couldn't move. The ground before her began to bubble like water, and slowly a hideous figure rose from the ground. The cloaked skeleton held up a mirror, and Ida stared with shock at her reflection within the dirty mirror. Then the mirror shattered before her eyes, and all feeling left Ida's body.

Conleth merely watched as Ida's eyes suddenly glaze, though he did rush forward and catch her fall out of habit. The Axe Beak snarled, rising weakly to its feet. Conleth looked with surprise toward the angered monster, then lifted Ida over his shoulder without a second thought. He couldn't waste time worrying about some injured monster. Surely the boy had gotten reinforcements, and they had to be heading toward him at that moment.

Such thoughts were only confirmed when someone outside shouted, "Over here!"

Can't go out that way! Only one way now...

With that panicked thought, Conleth rushed forward and, only lightly preparing a spell, sent his staff into the fabric opposite the opening of the tent. The fire that had begun to gather slightly on the end of the staff was enough to send the fabric ablaze, and quickly the flammable fabric was ablaze. Startled cries came from outside the tent, as smoke billowed from the flaming tent. The Axe Beak panicked, instincts telling it to fear the flames, and it limped toward the opening of the tent. Conleth took advantage the panic and half-leapt, half-stepped through the new opening. He then raced away from the tent as fast as he could, not looking back once.

As our two wondrous, not-so-love-struck heroes met… This chapter comes to an end. Many, many apologies to any screw-ups with spells, monsters, etc… It's been many months, possibly even a year, since I've played Final Fantasy IX, and I'm doing all the descriptions and such purely from pictures I've found online, and my own terrible memory. Description was a little better here, but again, nothing is very important! Hopefully the chapters will have something important eventually… O.o

This story is copyright to me. Final Fantasy IX and all of its components are copyright to Square-Whatever-The-Heck-They-Call-Themselves. Thank you.