by: Amisha N. Smith
Aw, man! First off, let me say I'm sorry it took me so long to finally add this chapter! It's just that I've barely had time to work on it, what with college and my job and other stuff like that. But now, what with this semester being over, I've got some free time on my hands! Woo-hoo! I'd better do some more work on this before I decide to go to King's Island! And now, my fellow FFIX fans, let's get on with the story….
Final Fantasy: Quest of the Elements
Chapter Three
I am gonna die. I am gonna die. I am so gonna die.
Viva's eyes were shut tight as she held on for dear life to the tail of the dragon that carried her, Nova, and Kuja higher into the sky and farther away from Alexandria. She willed herself not to open her eyes, because she was afraid of heights and had a feeling that if she did see how high up she was she'd probably faint. She hadn't been this scared since the time she and Nova snuck out of Alexandria together to go exploring in the petrified forest and ran into a wild ochu on the way there. She and Nova probably would have been plant food for the huge, poison-pollen spewing beast if her big brother Victor hadn't caught up to them and used a fira spell to torch the monster. But her big brother wasn't here to rescue them right now. In fact, none of her family was here. It was just her, her best friend, and their extremely strange kidnapper.
"LET ME GO, YOU SON OF A BITCH!", Viva heard Nova yell as she still dangled, defenseless, from the jaws of Kuja's dragon. "Oh my, such language", Kuja replied in a calm and amused voice. "Very unbecoming of a princess. You kiss you mother with that mouth?" "Kiss my ass!", Nova spat back. Kuja answered with a low chuckle and a surge of anger went through Viva. Almost forgetting her fear, almost, she drew her oak staff and slowly inched her way up to where the dragon's tail met it's rear end. She was fiercely determined that, no matter what, she was going to save her friend from this lunatic. Viva pointed her staff at Kuja's back and let loose with a thunder spell. But just as she released the spell the dragon's tail flicked abruptly to the left, throwing off her aim and causing the thunderbolt to fly harmlessly past Kuja's head. Kuja whirled, startled and alarmed, to see who his attacker was.
"Why, you sneaky little oglop!", Kuja said in a surprised voice when he saw Viva. "How on Gaia did you manage to get there?"
"I wouldn't w-worry about t-that, if I were you", Viva manages to stutter fearfully yet angrily. "Y-you land this dragon r-r-right now, Kuja!"
"Viva?", Nova said in shock when she heard her friend's voice. She turned her head and saw Viva facing Kuja on the dragon. "Whoa, Viva! Are you a sight for sore eyes!", Nova said, happy to see her buddy.
"Hang on, Nova! I'll g-get him to let you go!", Viva replied. She then turned her attention back on Kuja. "I said land this d-d-dragon. Now", she demanded. Nova was impressed. Viva was clearly terrified, yet also willing to stand up to Kuja. She's got way more nerve than I ever gave her credit for, Nova thought to herself.
"And what, pray tell, will you do if I don't respond to your demands?", Kuja folded his arms and inquired with a smirk. "Will you attack me and risk startling the dragon? That might be very bad for your friend. If my dragon opens his mouth so much as an inch, Princess Nova will plummet hundreds of feet to her death. Is that what you'd like to have on your conscience?" Viva looked at Nova, then glared at Kuja, then lowered her staff, defeated. "Yes, a very wise choice indeed, my gutsy little hitchhiker", Kuja said triumphantly as he turned back around. "Just sit back and enjoy the ride."
"You'll have to land sometime", Viva said defiantly. "And when you do, I'll attack."
"Well, that's just a bridge we'll have to burn when we get to it, won't we?", Kuja replied, calm as ever. Viva sat down on the dragon's back, stewing in anger and resentment. But she was no where near as angry as Nova was. I swear Kuja, when I get down from here, she thought maliciously, I'm gonna use my daggers to slowly carve my initials on your balls.
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King Zidane sat in the head chair of the oval-shaped strategy room, brooding and anxious. His brow was furrowed and he stroked his beard in deep troubled thought. Why, Kuja? Why are you doing this?, Zidane wondered. He remembered years ago when he was at the root of the huge lifa tree, trying to save Kuja from an impending end. Before then, Kuja had been his fiercest and most dangerous enemy. But at that moment, when he lay dying under the lifa tree, Kuja seemed to have learned the error of his ways and even repented his past sins, saying that he had finally learned the value of life. It was then that one of the collapsing roots of the lifa tree had slammed into them, striking them hard and sending them both falling beneath the earth to almost certain death. Zidane recalled that Kuja had used up the last of his remaining power to keep the root from squashing them both, then turned his head and took his last breath. Zidane remembered that Kuja's last act in life was giving him a chance to live his.
Or so Zidane had thought.
How did you survive?, Zidane thought to himself. And why did you return only to snatch my daughter away from me? What are you plotting now, Kuja?
"Your Majesty?", Beatrice's voice cut into his thoughts. Zidane looked up to see everyone else at the huge, round wooden meeting table looking at him. Zidane quickly sat up and cleared his throat. "Um, ah-hrm, sorry about that", he apologized as he rubbed his temples. "Your Majesty, I know you're worried", Beatrice said in a sympathetic yet slightly firm voice, "But you must stay focused, for the sake of the princess." "I know", Zidane replied, his irritation and fear evident in his voice. Garnet, who was sitting at his right side, reached over and squeezed his hand, trying to comfort him. It was at that instant that Zidane decided to pull himself together, for his wife's sake. After all, she was as worried sick about their daughter as he was. And if she can hold it together…
"Okay, what were you saying?", Zidane asked Beatrice, sitting up straight in his chair. Beatrice nodded. "I was saying that Steiner and I have already deployed knights all over Alexandria's territory and beyond, searching for any sign of Kuja and the children", she informed. "They are searching by airship, boat, and chocobo all over the land."
"And I have contacted my mother and father and I even got hold of Freya in New Burmecia", Eiko added. "They've all been briefed on the situation, and right now Freya is on her way here on board the Hilda Guarde. She should be arriving very soon."
"Good, good", Zidane said. "But shouldn't we be out looking for them too?" "We… thought it would be wise, your Majesty, to wait here for word from anyone who has seen them", Steiner suggested. Zidane sighed and began rubbing his temples again. "I don't know about that, Steiner", Zidane replied irritably. "Just sitting here twiddling our thumbs and waiting for news? Our kids are out there, with that madman. How can you expect us just to…"
"Zidane", Vivi interrupted from his left, "I know how you feel. My daughter is out there too. But what can we really accomplish by going out and blindingly searching for them? We don't even know which direction Kuja flew off in. Besides, we've already told the knights to inform us if they happen to find Kuja and the girls. How will they be able to do that if we're out running around searching for three needles in a haystack?" Zidane's brow furrowed and his shoulders slightly slumped. From Zidane, that was a true sign of relent. Garnet nodded her thanks to Vivi. "Vivi is right", she announced. "We have to stay as calm and clearheaded as possible. Acting out rashly is a sure way to make mistakes. And right now we really can't afford to make any mistakes." At that second the door to the strategy roomed opened and two armored guards walked in and saluted Zidane and Garnet. "Your Majesties, Freya Crescent has arrived", they announced loudly. They both parted the doorway and in with a swirl of her blood-red cloak rushed Zidane's old friend Freya, the most powerful Dragoon Knight of the rat-like race of people of New and Old Burmecia. "Garnet! Zidane! I have news!", she exclaimed. "Three of the knights I've sent to scout the eastern side have sent back a report! They said they've seen two people riding a silver dragon in the skies in that direction, and the description of one of them fits that of a small black mage!" At that news, everyone shot up from their seats."A-are you sure?", Vivi asked, hardly daring to believe it.
"Yes!", Freya replied. "And the dragon was also reported to have been carrying what seemed to be a third person in it's mouth!"
"That sounds like the princess!", Steiner snarled. "Kuja had his cursed dragon pick her up in it's mouth before he took off with her! Damn him! When I get my hands on…"
"Let's focus on finding them first", Beatrice reprimanded. "We can save the hostilities for after we catch up to Kuja and save the kids."
"I second that notion", Zidane said. Then he turned to his wife. "So what are we waiting for, Dagger? Let's all board the Hilda Guarde and go get the girls!"
Garnet nodded. "Yes, and let's teach that baby-snatching Kuja a lesson while we're at it", she added in an icy and dangerous voice as they all rushed out of the meeting room on their way to the airship dock.
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"Hey, shit-heel! Where the hell are you taking me?", Nova yelled angrily back at Kuja as she still dangled from the jaws of his dragon.
"To your destiny, my potty-mouthed princess", Kuja replied calmly. "And it's just too bad your destiny isn't in a charm school."
"Yeah, well how much longer before we get to my destiny?", Nova snarled. "Your flying lizard's breath is starting to corrode my outfit!"
"Just what do you mean by 'destiny'?", Viva asked Kuja. "What do you want with Nova anyway?" "My part in this act is to escort her to her destiny", Kuja replied. "You see, her fate is to save this world from destruction." Viva's eyes grew wide. "W-what do you mean?", she asked fearfully. "You will see for yourself soon enough". Kuja answered gravely.
"He doesn't mean anything, Viva!", Nova yelled. "He's completely insane! He's probably an escapee from a psych ward somewhere!" At that, Kuja chuckled. "Perhaps I am a tad insane", he said, amused. "It would definitely explain a lot. But make no mistake, princess. I meant every word I said. This planet is in serious danger, and it is your burden and your duty to protect it. For it is now being threatened by evil imaginable. Evil that you will eventually have to face…" Suddenly Kuja went abruptly silent. He leaned forward and sat intensely still, as if listening for something. That, of course, made Viva jittery. "What? What is it?", she asked in a nervous voice.
"Buzzing", Kuja replied, looking off into the distance. "Like the sound of many insects. Coming from ahead." Nova followed Kuja's gaze and looked forward at the horizon beyond. But she didn't see any insects. In fact, all she really saw was clouds. She was about to write what Kuja said off as nothing but more ranting from a madman when she too began to hear the buzzing, very faint and far off in the distance. "Uh… Nova", she heard Viva say gingerly. "Yeah, I hear it too", Nova said, getting as nervous as her friend was. "What could it be?", Kuja wondered out loud. "We're a bit high up to run into a swarm of any kind of insect." They were all silent for the next two minutes as the buzzing noise grew louder, as if whatever was making it was rapidly getting closer. Then Nova suddenly saw the sky ahead of them was practically covered by a huge mass of dark shapes hovering far in the horizon.
"W-what the heck is that?", Viva said, terrified. Nova said nothing. She continued to look hard at the shapes that seemed to be growing larger by the second; a sure sign that whatever they were, they were definitely getting closer. She kept peering until she could finally make out one of the approaching shapes. To her horror, it looked like a giant, flying praying mantis. It's wings beat the air at rapid speed and it's two fore claws swiped at the air towards them, each one looking for all the world like the scythe of death.
"Abadon!", Kuja yelled, identifying the bizarre insect-like creatures. "They knew we were headed this way! They must be soul snatchers, sent by the Acolytes for our souls!"
"Eh?", Nova said, confused, just before Kuja's dragon did a sudden nose dive towards the forest hundreds of feet below them. "Yaaaaahhhhh!", both girls yelled out in fear and shock as they plummeted downward, getting nearer and nearer to the treetops below them. Nova closed her eyes and braced herself as the dragon plunged through the thick treetops and flew forward through the woods, trunks going past them at blinding speed and getting lower and closer to the ground as the dragon prepared itself to land. Finally the dragon put it's claws down and dug into the earth, bringing itself to an almost abrupt but somehow graceful stop in the thick of the woods. Kuja immediately jumped down off the back of his dragon and looked skyward, to see if the swarm of abadon had seen them enter the forest and decided to follow. A few seconds went by and when he still didn't see or hear any abadon he was satisfied that they were safe.
"Well, that wasn't so bad, was it?", Kuja asked as he turned to speak with Viva and was startled to see she was no longer atop his dragon. "Let her go this instant!", he heard her voice demand from near the dragon's head. He looked and was highly amused to see the young black mage had grasped Princess Nova by her hands and was trying unsuccessfully to pull her free from the jaws of his dragon. "Ow! Hey, take it easy Viva!", Nova protested. "What are ya trying to do? Pull me in half?" Kuja just smiled and shook his head. He then snapped his fingers and the dragon immediately opened it's mouth, freeing Nova and causing both girls to tumble backwards on the ground. "Well now, is everyone okay?", Kuja asked pleasantly.
Nova and Viva jumped to their feet and faced Kuja. "We're just fine, which is more than I'll be able to say about you in a moment", Nova said coldly as she drew her twin moon daggers.
"Oh my", Kuja said in a calm and amused voice as he watched the princess unsheathe her weapons. "And what on Gaia do you plan to do with those?"
"Rearrange your internal organs", Nova replied in a dark voice. "Is that so?", Kuja replied, cool as ever. "And after you're done killing me, then what? Are you going to just walk home from here? You don't even know in which direction your precious castle is from this location. In fact, you don't even know where you are, do you?" "We'll manage", Nova snapped defiantly. "Oh really?", Kuja said mockingly. "And what about all the monsters that are currently after your royal hide? Just how long do you think it will take that swarm of abadon up there to realize that you're hiding in this forest, hmm?" As if on reflex, both girls looked up and scanned the treetops nervously. Kuja grinned, realizing he almost had them. "Make no mistake, princess", he continued. "When that swarm of killer super-locusts find out you're hiding from them in these woods, and believe me they will, they'll be all over these woods like a behemoth on a slab of ham. And when they find you, they'll finish what that antlion started when it invaded your palace earlier."
"Wait a sec", Viva interrupted, "Up there in the sky you said something about the bugs being sent by apple lights, or something like that. What did you mean?"
"Acolytes", Kuja corrected her with a nod. "And yes, the bugs were sent here by them to steal mine and Princess Nova's souls."
"What the hell are you talking about?", Nova snapped, irritated. "You're not making any sense! Just spell it out already, you nut! What the hell is going on? Why have you brought me here? Who are these 'acolytes' and why are they supposedly sending all these damn bugs to kill me?"
"Calm down, your royal loudness", Kuja reprimanded. "Seeing as how we're currently trying not to be found by vicious monsters, what say we keep the yelling to a minimum, hmm?" Kuja calmly pulled a small compass out of his pocket. "Now, which way is east?", he wondered as he held it out in front of him. "Ah! This way!" He put his compass back in his pocket and turned to face the girls. "If you wish, I can explain everything to you. But not while we're standing here. If we stay in one spot in this forest, we'll be sitting ducks for that swarm of abadon for sure, as well as any other monster the acolytes may have sent after us. Come, we'll talk while we're on the move." He then turned, gave a shrill whistle, and started walking eastward. The silver-white dragon, obviously responding to it's master's whistle, started after Kuja. The girls stood rooted and watched him for a moment.
"What do you think, Viva? Is this guy telling the truth? Or did he just overdose on crazy pills this morning?", Nova asked her best friend.
"Well… it is highly strange that you're being attacked by so many monsters in one day", Viva replied. "And he did help us out, a little. This may sound crazy, but maybe we should follow him and see for ourselves? And of course, you could always look at it this way: If he's right, and someone is sending monsters after you, then you'll definitely want to know who, why, and if we can stop them. And if he's wrong, and just plain nuts, we can always just overpower him if we have to and escape. Either way, the only true way we'll know for sure what's going on is if we follow him." Nova sighed and bowed her head. "I guess you're right", she conceded. "Man, this is turning out to be one hell of a birthday." She then piped up and started walking cheerfully forward. "On the bright side, we may get to fight some more monsters", she said happily. "Come on, Viva! Let's get the lead out!"
"On the bright side?", Viva exclaimed as she followed Nova. "Man, I think you're as nutty as Kuja is!"
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Queen Garnet stood outside on the Hilda Guarde with her arms and elbows resting on the railing on the side of the ship while she gazed at the ground hundreds of feet below, as if scanning the earth for any sign of her daughter. Where are you?, she thought anxiously. Oh, my precious Nova, please be safe. Tears came to her eyes and a powerful rage welled up within her; the rage a mother gets whenever something is threatening their children. Kuja, I swear if you've hurt our babies in any way, no force on Gaia will be able to protect you from me, she thought with deadly malice.
"Hey Dagger, are you alright?", her husband's concerned voice came from behind her.
"No, not really", Garnet replied without turning around. Zidane walked up behind her and gently put his hands on her shoulders, trying to comfort her. "Don't worry, our daughters are strong. Ten times stronger than even we were in the old days", he said supportively. "They're just fine. And we're gonna get 'em back. You'll see. Heck, they're probably kicking Kuja's ass right now." Garnet couldn't help but look up at her husband and smile when he said that. But deep down, she sincerely hoped her daughter didn't try to fight Kuja. She knew how powerful Kuja was. And she definitely knew how impulsive Nova could be, even when the odds are stacked against her. Especially when the odds were stacked against her.
"Hey, what's that?", Zidane suddenly said, peering perplexedly at something to their left. Garnet turned to see what her husband was looking at and saw nothing but a white barrel sitting in a corner behind them on the balcony. Before she could ask her husband what he was talking about she saw the barrel stir ever so slightly. "Eh? What's in there?", Garnet wondered aloud. Zidane didn't reply. Instead he started walking cautiously over to the barrel. He drew his powerful oar-like twin-sided spear-blade, the Ultima Weapon, slowly from the sheath on his back and motioned for Garnet to stay where she was. "Whoever you are, you'd better come out of there. Slowly", he growled threateningly. "Don't make me have to cut the barrel in half."
"Okay, okay. Take it easy", a weasely voice replied from within the barrel. The top of the barrel popped off and out jumped a short kid that wore a red cap and colorful, flamboyant clothing, had the same rat-like features as Freya, and was about one and a half the size of the barrel. "Hiya, guys! Long time, no see!", the young rat said with a smile and a wave.
"Puck?", Zidane exclaimed, instantly recognizing the mischievous wandering king of New Burmecia. It had been years since he'd last seen Puck. Back then, Puck was just a kid; a mischievous prince always running away from home and his father to find adventure. After the tree-town of Cleyra was destroyed, along with Puck's father and most of his people, it was believed the young prince was dead as well. But years later he showed up in Old Burmecia while Freya, her love Sir Fratley, and a few other Dragoon Knights were working hard to rebuild Burmecia. The prince stayed and helped rebuild the town, most likely because he had no other place to call home, and when they were finished he was eventually hailed as the new king. But his behavior is anything but that of a royal leader, as he is constantly wandering off seeking adventure and Freya keeps having to go out and find him (usually just in the nick of time, for he is always getting into danger he can't get himself out of) and bring him back. "What are you doing here?", Zidane asked, folding his arms and looking sternly at Puck.
"Hey, man! Is that any way to treat an old friend?", Puck protested, feigning hurt feelings. "I heard your kids were snatched and I thought I'd come help you un-snatch 'em! Besides", he raised one eyebrow slyly, "it's not every day you get to play hero for a hottie like Princess Nova. Rrrawrr!" Before Zidane could give a retort, Garnet stepped forward.
"You do know that when Freya sees you here, she's gonna have a baby", she warned.
"Ah, don't you worry about ol' Freya", Puck replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I can handle her. Besides, I've been practicing like crazy with my sword just in case a chance for an adventure like this ever came up. And when she sees how skillful I've gotten, she'll not only be happy I'm here, she'll want to bring me along on all her adventures from now on."
"Don't bet on it", a steely voice said behind him. Puck froze. With a gulp, he turned and saw Freya standing in the doorway to the balcony, her arms folded and a very unhappy expression on her face. "Uhh… H-Hiya, Freya", Puck said gingerly. "I was looking all over the ship for ya! How ya doing?" "King Puck!", Freya began angrily. "If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times! You must stop sneaking out of New Burmecia! Can't you at least try to be responsible for once?"
"Hey, I can help out!", Puck protested. "I'm a lot stronger than I used to be! Why don't you just give me a chance! I won't be a burden! I promise!"
"King Puck, this is not a game!", Freya countered, still furious with her monarch. "Don't you understand? There is a chance we will all be in very real danger!"
"Man, you ain't kidding!", Zidane said in disbelief as he pointed at something in the sky. "Check it out!" All four of them looked and were awe-stricken and horrified at what they saw. Abadon. Seemingly hundreds of them, littering the sky. "What the hell? What are they all doing here?", Puck wondered out loud. "Abadon don't usually fly so high into the sky."
"They look like they're searching for something", Garnet said. Suddenly a thought hit her and she felt as if a hand made of ice had gripped her heart. "Y-you don't think Kuja and the girls ran into them, do you?", she asked her husband, panic-stricken. Zidane opened his mouth as if to answer, but no sound came out. A huge lump had formed in his throat. He had been thinking the exact same thing. Suddenly a large group of the insects in the center of the swarm moved to the side as down from the clouds descended an abadon that was at least three times the size of any of the others. "Look at that giant", Freya said half to herself. The three of them watched as the giant abadon chattered something in it's high-pitched jittery language to the other insects. It then started descending downward.
"Where's it going?", Freya wondered aloud.
"It looks like it's headed…", Puck said as his eyes followed the giant abadon, "…There! For that forest down there!" They looked and, sure enough, the big bug was headed for a huge stretch of forest below them. "Why is it going there?", Garnet asked. "Do you think our kids are down there? Is that it? Is it after Nova and Viva?" "If it is, we'll just have to land this ship and get to them before it does", Zidane said determinedly. "Let's go tell the captain to land! And let's have our weapons ready when we disembark"
"Uh… guys?", Puck said in an extremely nervous voice as he pointed forward. "I… uh… think we have a problem." And indeed he was right. The huge swarm of abadon had now turned their attention entirely on the Hilda Guarde. They looked hostilely at the ship, waving their scythe-like claws. Their buzzing grew increasingly louder and louder…
"Quickly! Get inside the ship!", Freya yelled as she grabbed her king by his arm and dragged him inside the Hilda Guarde. The four of them ran inside and closed and sealed the door just as the ship began shaking as loud banging noises ensued from outside. "They're attacking!", Zidane exclaimed. "Looks like that swarm doesn't want us following their queen! We'll have to deal with them before we can get to that forest! And quickly, before they tear this ship apart!" The four friends rushed towards the bridge, prepared to give a counter-attack the abadon would not live to regret. If those damn bugs want a fight, they've got one, Zidane thought menacingly. They've come to the right place at the wrong time.
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"Hey, Kuja!", Nova said as she fought to keep up with her strange kidnapper. "You said you'd explain everything while we were walking! So, like, what's keeping you?"
"Just a little farther, princess", Kuja replied. "Right now, we have to concentrate on putting as much distance between us and the abadon as we can. Once we're at a safe enough distance away, then we'll talk." "Humph", was Nova's only reply. But she knew he was right. They had to get as far away as they could, as fast as they could. Suddenly, after a few more minutes of traveling in silence, a huge shadow seemed to fall upon them from above. "Huh?", Nova said as she looked skyward. "What the hell…?"
"Look out!", Kuja yelled as dove for the princess, knocking her out of the way just in time. A huge, scaly green mantis claw swooped down and stabbed a deep hole in the earth where Nova was formerly standing. Viva screamed and Nova and Kuja looked up in horror at the unbelievably huge abadon that now hovered menacingly before them. "W-w-whoa", Nova said in awe. "It would seem that we have a problem", Kuja observed as he looked up at the huge insect. "A-are we gonna have to fight it?", Viva managed to squeak out. "Of course we have to fight it", Kuja replied, already getting into a battle stance. 'Either that or we let it kill us. Ready yourselves, girls!"
Nova and Viva looked at each other, Viva shaking in fear and Nova shaking with excitement and adrenaline. The girls then got up, drew their weapons, and stood at Kuja's side, facing their monstrous enemy. The abadon roared and readied itself to attack. Kuja, Nova, and Viva prepared themselves as well. Their second major battle was officially under way.