by: Amisha N. Smith
Another chapter finished! Geez, this is hard work! I don't know how people like Dean Koontz and J.K. Rowley do it! Well, I gotta admit, this is fun! Oh, and all you FF9 fans out there are in for a treat! A super major character from the FF universe is about to make his debut in my fic! Who, you ask? Heh, heh, well if I told you, you wouldn't have to read it, would ya? So read, already!
Final Fantasy: Quest of the Elements
Chapter Two
"Get the hell out of our way!", Steiner yelled hysterically as he and Beatrice fought to make their way to the ballroom. The two knights had been desperately trying to cut through the mob of panicked people stampeding away from the ballroom for about ten minutes now, and as far as Steiner was concerned, that was nine minutes and fifty-nine seconds way too long. Neither he nor Beatrice had seen any sign of the princess since this chaos began, which meant there was a very good chance that she was still in the ballroom with whatever was causing this riot.
Which meant there was a very good chance that Princess Nova was in serious danger.
"It's no use, Steiner!", Beatrice yelled. "There are too many people! We'll never get through here in time! We have to find another way to the ballroom!"
Blast!, Steiner thought, frustrated and anxious. Beatrice is right! If we don't find another path to the ballroom past these fools, the princess may be…. Suddenly an idea hit him and he halfway smiled, impressed with his own ingenuity. "Come, this way!", he said as he grabbed Beatrice by her wrist and yanked her to the side, startling her. He pulled her into a hallway to the right of the screaming, stampeding mob of frightened people.
"Steiner! What….?", Beatrice began. "Our path to the ballroom lies in this hallway", Steiner announced as he frantically began taking down the paintings hanging on the walls. "I just remembered that there is a secret passageway somewhere around here…. Ah, here it is!" Steiner had taken down a picture of a knight riding a black chocobo and revealed a small button on the wall. He pushed the button and the wall behind him slid open to the side, revealing a secret doorway. "Ah-haa!", Steiner crowed triumphantly. "This passage leads to anywhere in the palace you'd want to go! We're well on our way, Beatrice!" He then balled his hands into fists. "Hold on, princess. Your knights are coming to protect you", he vowed solemnly. "Quick, Steiner! There's no time to waste!", Beatrice said urgently. The two knights rushed into the secret passage, which closed almost immediately after they entered.
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"C'mon, guys! Hurry up! This way!", yelled Victor, the son and eldest child of Vivi. Behind him his six brothers were struggling to keep up as they all ran through the thick of the onrushing crowd and tried to follow Steiner and Beatrice. Victor did his best to not lose sight of the two knights, having a strong intuition that they would be able to lead him and his brothers to their little sister Viva. What kind of mess did you get yourself into this time, Viva?, Victor wondered. He was used to his sister getting into mischief, especially when Princess Nova was around. But this was way out of hand. I just hope those two are okay, he thought to himself. He suddenly saw Steiner grab Beatrice and make a sharp right into a hallway. Victor wove through the crowd, almost getting trampled a couple of times, and rushed into the hallway….
"Huh?", Victor said as he entered the small, empty hallway. "Where'd they go?", he wondered aloud, looking for any sign of the two missing knights. His brothers finally rushed into the hallway, each one bumping into the last one. "Hey, Victor? Where's Beatrice and Steiner?", asked Van, the second to oldest. "I…. I don't know", Victor replied, distraught.
"I knew it. We lost them, didn't we?", Vyce, the pessimistic second to youngest, snapped coldly.
"This is not good", Veno, the middle brother, said distressingly. "If we don't find Viva soon, there's no telling what will happen to her."
"Not to mention what will happen to us when father finds out we left her unsupervised", Vaughn, the third oldest, pitched in.
"My, my. How sentimental of you, Vaughn", Vladimir, the third youngest, said sarcastically. "I'm sure Viva would be touched to hear how concerned you are for her safety."
"Eat me", Vaughn snapped back.
Vash, the youngest brother, didn't say anything. To Victor, who knew Vash as being very talkative, that was a sure sign that he was worried. "Come on, you guys. Keep it together", Victor said, once again assuming the role of leader amongst his siblings. "We gotta stay focused if we're gonna find Viva. Now let's just go back and try pushing our way through the crowd . I know it will be difficult, but I'm sure if we try hard enough…."
"Victor!", yelled a familiar voice from the other end of the hallway. It was their father Vivi, accompanied by the king, the queen, and Regent Eiko, and all four were headed straight for him and his brothers. "Victor! Have you seen your sister and the princess?", Vivi asked his eldest son as he stopped tight in front of him. "Nope. In fact, we were on our way to see if we could find her. We were following Beatrice and Steiner, hoping they could lead us to her, but they ducked into this hallway and just…. disappeared."
"Disappeared?", Zidane repeated, irritated and anxious to get to his daughter. "What do you mean? How can two people just disappear?"
"Like this", Garnet replied as she pushed a button on the wall. Suddenly, to the surprise of everyone but the queen, the wall directly across from them opened up, revealing a secret passageway. "This castle is full of secret passages, in case of emergencies", Garnet explained. "Steiner must have used this one to try to get to the ballroom."
"Not bad", Zidane said. "Well, let's all follow Rusty's example and try and get to the ballroom before it's too late."
"I'll stay here and keep the boys safe", Eiko announced. "No way!", Victor protested. "We wanna go with you guys! We're worried about Viva, too!" "Out of the question", Vivi sharply denied his son's request. "It's too dangerous. You will stay here and help Eiko keep an eye on your brothers. Understood?" Victor exhaled sharply. "Yes sir", he grumbled. "Good", Vivi said, then in a gentler tone, "Don't worry. We'll make sure Viva is safe." And with that Vivi was gone, rushing through the passageway with Zidane and Garnet on their way to find and protect their daughters. Just hold on, girls, Zidane thought urgently. We're on our way.
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"WAAAH!", Nova exclaimed as she leaped back, just barely a second before the antlion's powerful pincers crushed the spot on the ground she was formerly standing on to rubble. "Whoa, this bug is serious!", Nova said tensely. She looked up at the giant bug, starting to get worried. They had been fighting it for nearly ten minutes, and they barely put a scratch on it. If they didn't destroy it soon….
"Nova! We gotta do something or we'll both be killed!", Viva cried, as if she was reading Nova's thoughts. "I know!", Nova replied as she and Viva dodged another one of the antlion's attacks. "I'm thinking! I'm thinking!" As the monster roared and prepared to lunge at the girls again, Nova's mind began running through all the battle tactics Beatrice taught her. I know there's something this creature is vulnerable to, she thought, desperate for an idea, any idea. Was it something she said about bugs? No… wait… something she said about large monsters… Yeah! That's it! Nova smiled to herself as she recalled an important battle strategy Beatrice taught her not too long ago. This bug was as good as dead.
"Viva!", she yelled at her friend, "I just remembered! Large monsters are extremely vulnerable to ice!"
"O-okay! I got it!", Viva said with a nod. She waved her oak staff at the antlion and a thick whirlwind of ice swirled around the monster's midsection, freezing it from the inside out. The antlion roared in pain and reeled back, hit hard by Viva's fierce blizzard attack. "Woo-hoo! Hit it again, Viva!", Nova yelled triumphantly. Viva repeated her attack and the monster roared in agony yet again, this time louder. It then fell forward on the ground with a loud, gigantic crash and started breathing heavily.
"Yeah! Good work softening him up, Viva!", Nova crowed, victory dancing in her eyes. "Now, time for me to take him out!" The princess rushed forward, ready to skewer the beast with her daggers. This wasn't too difficult after all, she thought to herself. And to think I was starting to worry. Bah! She couldn't wait till she could tell her mother and father how she and Viva slew an antlion and saved the people in the palace ballroom all by themselves. They'd be heroes! Unfortunately for her though, things wouldn't actually work out the way she planned, for as she reached the antlion and prepared to kill it, the monster moved it's massive head sharply to the right, slamming into the side of her full force and sending her sliding on her back across the floor, dazed, breathless, and surprised.
"W-whoa", Nova said dizzily as she struggled to get up. "Any-anybody get the license of that giant chocobo?" "Nova! Look out!", she heard Viva scream. Without taking the time to look, Nova dove to the side, just barely missing being crushed by the huge pincers of the antlion. She rolled to her feet and whirled to face the beast, not wanting to ever give the creature a chance to get that close again. But by that time the monster was roaring again, this time in pain as Viva let loose with another blizzard attack.
"Take that, you big bug!", Viva yelled. Whoa. You go, Viva, Nova thought, impressed, as she watched her best friend in action. The antlion was less impressed and more pissed off, however, as it whipped it's massive head around to stare hatefully at Viva. The young black mage froze as the beast glared at her, petrified in fear.
"N-n-n-nova?", Viva stammered as she gazed, terrified, into the eyes of the antlion.
"Hang on, Viva! I'm coming!", Nova yelled as she rushed towards her friend. She knew that she wouldn't be able to kill the antlion before it attacked and killed Viva. She had to get Viva out of there. Just before she got halfway to Viva, she saw the antlion begin lunging forward…. "No! Viva!", Nova screamed, panic-stricken. She had dragged her friend into this battle. And now, because of her, she was going to watch Viva die. A burning sensation of fear and rage boiled up within her and everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. Before she knew it, she was right under the antlion, spinning and whirling her daggers in lethal fashion as she swiftly and effortlessly carved the antlion under it's head. She was so full of burning adrenaline she couldn't even hear the antlion roar in pain and surprise as she followed up with a tornado-like whirlwind attack upward where it's throat was.
The monster pulled speedily back and disappeared down into the hole it had entered the ballroom through. Nova ran over to the hole and peered down into it, looking for any sign of the antlion. There was no trace of it. Whoa! Did I scare it away? I'm a bigger badass than I thought!, thought Nova with pride. "Nova! W-what happened to you?", Viva said, alarmed. "Are you… are you feeling alright?" "Huh?", Nova said as she looked at her friend, confused. "What do you mean?" "Look at yourself!", was Viva's reply. Nova looked down at her body…
"What the hell?", she exclaimed as she held up her arms in front of her, which were now glowing with a bright, colorful light, as was the rest of her body. She was glowing from the top of her head to the tip of her fuzzy tail. "What… is this?", she asked in alarm.
"It is called 'trance'", said a dark voice. Both girls turned and saw the same mysterious cloaked man they'd met earlier in the throne room heading their way. "Only the mightiest of warriors can achieve it", the strange man continued. "It's a special sort of reflex that kicks in during battle, giving the warrior unmeasured strength and stamina, as well as limitless power." The man then tore off his cloak and threw it to the side, revealing a fair-featured young man with silvery-white, feathery hair and ice-blue eyes. He wore an elegant white suit decorated with wicked-looking black shoulder pads, had on a black cape, and those same spike-tipped black boots Nova saw before. But the most notable feature to Nova was the brown monkey-like tail the man had growing out of his rear end; a tail that, despite being a darker shade of brown, very much resembled hers and her father's. "Allow me to introduce myself", the man said with a sweeping bow. "I am Kuja."
"Kuja? The Kuja?", Viva said, incredulously. "Yes, yes. The same. I assume your parents have already told you about me?", Kuja said pleasantly. Nova and Viva looked at each other, not believing what they were hearing. She and Nova had heard tales about Kuja all around Alexandria; about how he had almost destroyed the world and life itself and how their parents fought and defeated him. Kuja was said to have died in the battle, yet here stood someone claiming to be that very same man. Nova almost didn't believe him, but then she remembered her father once told her that he and Kuja were of the same species of people from the same world; Terra, a parallel world to their planet Gaia. And this guy did have a tail…
"W-what are you doing here? What do you want?", Nova asked as she got into a fighting stance, preparing to battle Kuja if she had to and hoping and praying she didn't have to. Because if the stories about his massive power were even halfway true, she could be in for a big hurt if Kuja wanted to start something. Especially since her 'trance' power had just dissipated, leaving her the same super-powerless girl she was before she had it. "Do not fret, I am not here to play the villain in this drama. Quite the contrary, in fact. I am here to assist you in your role", Kuja said with a smile that did not reassure Nova at all.
"Drama? Role? What the hell are you talking about?", Nova asked without dropping her battle stance.
"Man, this guy sure is weird", Viva said as she scratched her head and looked at Kuja.
"Ah! Thank you!", Kuja said with another bow. "A great master of drama such as myself takes being called weird as a compliment. Hmm… now where were we? Ah, yes. I was just about to kill the antlion for you."
Nova snickered. "Yeah, right", she replied. "Like I needed your help. Besides, aren't you a bit late to play the cavalry? Viva and I already ran that overgrown slug with an attitude off…" Nova stopped talking as she began to feel the ground underneath her feet shake. "You have got to be kidding me", Nova said, alarmed. "I-it's back?", Viva cried, not believing it herself. As if to answer Viva's question, the antlion made it's second entrance into the ballroom the same way it did the first time; by bursting up through the hole in the floor with a loud roar.
"Stand back, princess", Kuja said as he stepped forward. "I'll take care of this." The antlion dove for Kuja, enraged to the point where it really didn't seem to care whom it killed, just so long as it killed something. Kuja didn't seem to be worried at all. He merely waved his arms at the antlion, and Nova and Viva cried out and shielded their eyes from the bright red and white light that ensued. As they covered their eyes they heard a deafeningly loud explosion coming from where the antlion was. The entire palace rumbled for about thirty seconds…
"You can look now, princess", Nova heard Kuja's voice say. "The big bug is now worm food." The girls uncovered their eyes. "Whoa!", Viva said as she and Nova gaped at the charred, ashy remains of the antlion, an unfortunate victim of Kuja's most powerful magic attack, flare. "Okay, I'll admit it. That kicked ass", Nova concurred. She then turned to face Kuja. "Um… thank you for your help", she said, "But, well, do you mind if I ask you a question?" "Go ahead", Kuja said with a nod. "Are you here because you knew an antlion was going to attack the palace?", she asked, a suspicious ring to the tone of her voice. "Actually, yes, I am", Kuja replied. "You see, your life, my princess, has been targeted by evil incarnate. That is why I am here. My role in this drama is to take you away from here and prepare you to grasp your destiny. The future of your world depends on you."
"What?", Nova said, confused. "Wanna run that by me again?" Before Kuja could reply, their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the south wall moving to the side, revealing a secret doorway. And out through the doorway rushed Steiner and Beatrice. The two knights stopped short when they saw whom the princess was talking to. Steiner's jaw almost dropped to the floor as he stared in shock. Then he began to shake with uncontrolled anger. Uh-oh, Nova thought. Here it comes…
"KUJA!", Steiner bellowed, enraged. "What are you doing here? Are you responsible for this mess? What are you doing with the princess? I swear, if you have harmed her…"
"Well, if it isn't the King and Queen's favorite bodyguard-in-a-can", Kuja said with a smirk. "And the little woman that likes to pretend she's a knight", he nodded towards Beatrice. "How have you been?"
'Princess! Viva! Come over here, quick!", Beatrice yelled, anxious to get the princess away from Kuja.
"Oh, I'm afraid not", Kuja stated. He raised his hands and a circular wall of light surrounded him, Nova, and Viva. Steiner and Beatrice rushed towards them with their swords drawn, ready to defend their princess. When they hit Kuja's wall of light, however, they were blasted back by a mighty force. "Auuurgh!", the knights cried out as their backs hit the ground and they slid backwards on the floor. Nova whirled to face Kuja, her pulse pounding.
"What do you think you're doing?", she yelled angrily. Kuja didn't answer her. Instead, he put his thumb and index finger in his mouth and gave a shrill whistle. A few seconds after he did that they all heard a mighty roar.
"W-what was that?", Viva asked, fearfully. "Another monster?"
"Nope", Kuja replied with a smile. "It's our transportation." Right after he said that a massive silver-white dragon burst through the ceiling of the ballroom. Folding in it's huge, colorful wings, it dove straight for Kuja and landed right at his side. The girls watched in awe as Kuja gently petted the beast on it's nose. Kuja then mounted the dragon as anybody would a horse. 'Let us go, princess", Kuja said, holding out a hand towards Nova. "Destiny awaits."
"There is no way I'm getting on that thing", Nova said firmly. "I'm not going anywhere with you." Kuja shook his head sadly. "Oh dear, I was hoping we could prevent making a scene here", he said dejectedly. "But I guess it can't be helped. Dragon?" As if on cue, the silver-white dragon moved it's head down towards Nova… "Aaaaaah!", the princess screamed as the dragon grabbed her and she found herself dangling helplessly by her tail from the dragon's mouth. Her garnet necklace fell off of her neck. "My necklace!", she cried as the birthday present she got from her mother hit the ground.
"Nova!", Viva, Steiner, and Beatrice all yelled at the same time. "Come! Let us fly!", Kuja said, gesturing dramatically towards the heavens. The dragon spread it's wings…
"Oh, no you don't!", Viva yelled bravely. She jumped onto the thick of the dragon's tail just before the beast jumped up into the air with a loud cry. "NO!", Steiner yelled desperately. But there was nothing he could do. The dragon carrying Kuja, Nova, and Viva flew upwards, out the hole it made in the ceiling and out of sight.
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"I think this is it!", Queen Garnet said as she, King Zidane, and Vivi ran through the passage up to a lever in the wall. She reached up and pulled the lever and the wall beside it slid open, revealing the ballroom. "Come on!", Zidane said. The three ran out of the passage, and were justifiably dismayed by what they saw. The ballroom was in shambles. There were massive holes in both the ceiling and the floor, and there was rubble everywhere. And in the middle of the room stood Steiner and Beatrice, looking dejectedly up at the heavens through the hole in the ceiling.
"Steiner! Beatrice! Where's…?", Garnet began, then stopped and paled slightly when she saw what Steiner was holding in his hand. It was the garnet necklace she had given her daughter earlier that day. And the sad looks on the knights' faces didn't help at all. "M-my baby!", Garnet yelled. "W-where's my baby?""Gone", Steiner said woefully. "He took her away."
"What? WHO?", Zidane yelled, panic-stricken. "Who took her away?"
"Kuja", Beatrice spat out venomously. "That bastard just showed up out of the blue and snatched the princess. He flew off with her on his silver dragon."
"Kuja?", Garnet and Zidane said in unison. "B-but I thought Kuja was dead!", Garnet said, not believing what she was hearing.
"So did we", Beatrice replied. "Apparently we were wrong. And our error has cost us dearly."
"Wait a minute, where's Viva?", Vivi asked, looking around for his daughter. "Did Kuja take her too?"
"I'm afraid so, Master Vivi", Steiner said unhappily. "Kuja had put up a force field so we couldn't reach him and stop him from taking the princess. Viva was on the inside of the force field, however, and jumped onto the dragon's tail, trying to stop Kuja. It was to no avail though. The dragon flew up into the air and carried both girls away." Vivi looked horrified at the news. "So, Kuja's alive", he said slowly. "And he has our children."
"Why? What does he want with them?", Garnet asked tearfully. Zidane reached over and embraced his wife, comforting her. "I don't know, Dagger", he said, calling her by the assumed name he'd help her come up with years ago. "But I promise you, I'm going to get them back. Count on it."