Chapter 39: Alexandria: Under Siege

We had been flying for a few minutes, and already we were having trouble flying. The ship just kept rocking. I tried to meditate and ease the motion sickness, but the ship was moving around to much. Also I was too worried about Dagger.

After a few more minutes, we neared Alexandria. The town was on fire, and the castle was under attack. The attacker was none other than Bahamut; the Eidolon that Kuja had enslaved.

As we approached the town, the ships rocking got worse. Freya turned to Cid. "The ship is rocking pretty bad."

Cid nodded. "It can't be helped. I designed this ship as an Oglop, after all. So, I have no gwok idea what could happen."

Zidane turned to him. "Sounds like it might crash any minute."

Cid nodded. "Perhaps…but I think we can at least make it to Alexandria."

This didn't please Zidane. "Oh, man…guess we'd better cross our fingers."

Vivi pulled on my sleeve to get my attention. I turned to look at him. He had his hands on his stomach. He didn't look to good. "Michael…I'm starting to feel sick…" he paused.

I was going to say something, but Amarant spoke. "It's probably coming from the flight. Try to stay in the middle of the ship. You'll feel less movement."

Cid nodded. "Go on, Vivi."

Vivi nodded. "Okay…thanks…" he turned and began walking up the stairs.

He stopped and stared at Eiko. "Eiko?"

Eiko turned to look at him. "What?"

Vivi spoke. "I saw something sparkle."

Eiko looked confused. That's when I felt something explode inside the ship. All of us stumbled around. Eiko fell to the ground, but got back up quickly.

She looked around, surprised. "Dagger…?"

That got Zidane's attention. "Dagger! Eiko, what's going on?" There was another explosion inside the ship. Everyone stumbled again. Zidane spoke. "what? Geez, something is wrong with this ship…"

Eiko spoke again, her pendent was glowing. "This light…maybe it's the Holy Judgment!"

Zidane looked at her, puzzled. "Holy Judgment?"

Eiko ran over to the front of the ship. Zidane was concerned. "Hey, what are you doing!"

Eiko didn't turn to look at him, but she spoke none the less. "The summoner is being called…Alexander's judgment has come!" She spread her arms out, and jumped off the ship.

Everyone gasped in surprise, but I knew that she would be alright. Vivi looked shocked. "Why'd she do that?"

I turned to look at him. "Don't worry, Vivi. I'm sure Eiko knows what she's doing."

Vivi wasn't sure. "How do you know?"

I smiled. "Well, one, I know she's not suicidal, and, two, she's probably too stubborn to die. Don't worry, Vivi, I'm sure she's okay."

Zidane nodded. "Michael's right, Vivi, but we still need to get down there and rescue them." We all nodded. The ship started shaking worse, and we had to force land it in front of the castle. We got off the ship, and walked into the castle.

Cid was the first to enter Alexandria Castle. "Phew…that was quite a trip."

Amarant shook his fist at him. "You little bug. We could've been killed."

Freya ran up beside Amarant. "Amarant's right. It was a mistake to come here on that airship."

Zidane, Vivi, and I joined them. Zidane spoke. "Come on, guys. We made it here in one piece. That's all that matters."

Cid nodded " gwok-gwok that's right!" Vivi picked that exact moment to throw up on the floor. I placed my hand on his back and rubbed it. After a few seconds, he stopped vomiting.

He coughed and wiped his mouth. "I'm never gonna ride on an airship again…never ever…"

Cid looked sad. "Sorry, Vivi."

"Captain!""

We all turned around, and saw one of Steiner's Pluto knight's run past us. It was Haagen; one of the Pluto knight's that tried to stop the Princess from leaving. He turned to us. "Where is her highness?"

Zidane shrugged. "I don't know. We're looking for her, too."

Haagen looked frustrated. "Shoot! I must find the captain!" He ran off to find Steiner.

Zidane turned to us. "Alright, let's go find Dagger."

Vivi spoke. "We have to find Eiko, too."

Zidane nodded. "They're probably together." We nodded and began searching for Dagger and Eiko.

During our search, we evacuated many of the people in the castle that didn't hear the warning. After that was taken care of, we continued our search for Dagger and Eiko. Our search, eventually, lead us to the top of a tall tower. Once we arrived, we saw Alexander. He was like a fortress with legs. He also had huge angel wings.

Vivi gapped at him. "Gee… what is this?"

Cid spoke. " gwok! so, this is the secret of Alexandria Castle."

Freya spoke. "Are Dagger and Eiko up there?"

Cid shrugged. "Maybe. Let's go see." He began to walk towards the stairs.

Before Cid reached the stairs, Zidane pushed him out of the way. Cid was surprised. " GWOK! What are you doing!"

Zidane turned to us. "There's no point in all of us going. I'll take it from here."

Vivi looked surprised. "Wh-why? I wanna go with you. I wanna help Dagger and Eiko, too."

Zidane spoke. "Kuja might destroy this castle at any minute. Get out of here while you can. Go on, Vivi. Don't worry about me. Someday, you'll probably do the same thing for someone's who's really important to you. Dagger is more important to me than anything else."

Amarant spoke. "Man, you make me sick. I'm outta here. Next time you wanna play hero, don't even bother calling me. Later..." he turned around and walked out the door.

Freya spoke. "I guess there's no way to stop you. But remember, this is not just your war, so don't even think about fighting Kuja now. As soon as you find Dagger, leave." Zidane nodded and Freya left.

Cid spoke to us. "Come on, you two, let's go." He walked out the door as well.

Zidane looked at us. "Sorry I can't take you guys with me, but I have to go with my instincts on this one. I don't know what else to say…" he paused.

Vivi didn't look convinced. "But Eiko-" I placed my hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me.

"Let's go, brother. If anyone can save them, it's Zidane." I said.

Vivi nodded "okay…good luck, Zidane." We both turned and walked to the door. Before I entered the door I looked back at Zidane. I smiled. "Go save your canary, Zidane." I turned before I could see his reaction and walked through the door.

We all ran outside of the castle. I looked up to the sky, and noticed that the Invincible was charging up its eye cannon. My eyes widened, and I turned to the others. "Everyone, into the lake, It's gonna fire!" We all ran to the lake. I took a deep breath, and dived into the lake.

After a few seconds of being submerged, I heard a huge explosion. I looked up at the surface of the water, and saw a brilliant flash of light as the explosion radiated outward. After a few seconds, the light disappeared, and I swam up towards the surface.

I emerged from the water and looked back over at the castle. I cursed, the castle was in ruins. Only one tower was standing, and that was the tower that led to the harbor. I looked over, and saw that the Hilda Garde 2 was destroyed as well. I didn't know whether that was a blessing or a curse. I saw the others emerge from the water as well. We all swam towards the castle dock.

I got out of the water, and helped everyone else out as well. As soon as everyone was out of the water, we turned to look at the castle again. I sighed, and turned to the others. "Alright, Amarant, Freya, I need you two to go into town, and find Steiner, if he's alive, and any survivors you find. Vivi, you, Cid, Tot, and myself will search the castle. We have to find Zidane, Dagger, and Eiko. Once we find them, let's get to the harbor, board the Blue Narciss, and head for Lindblum." Everyone nodded, and went off to there appointed task.

Vivi, Cid, Tot, and I began searching the wreckage of the castle. We decided to look in the general area were they had been. As we searched Vivi spotted a horn sticking out of the rubble. Vivi yelled, "Eiko!" and we all ran over there to dig out the little summoner. After a few seconds, we dug Eiko out.

Vivi cradled Eiko's head in his lap. "Eiko, are you alright? Eiko!" While he was doing that, I checked her injuries. Nothing seemed to be too wrong with her. I had Vivi open her mouth so I could give her a potion.

She coughed and her eyes slowly opened. She looked at Vivi. "V-Vivi…where are the others? Are they alright?" I could see the smile in Vivi's eyes.

He bent his head closer to hers. "Shhh, don't worry. We'll find the others. I'm sure they're fine." I smiled; Vivi was obviously learning something from me.

I spoke. "Vivi, stay here, and look after Eiko. Cid, Tot, and I will look for Zidane and Dagger." Vivi nodded, and Cid, Tot, and I went to look for Zidane and Dagger.

It didn't take us long to see a tail sticking out of the rubble. We ran over there and began to dig Zidane out. When we got Zidane out, we realized that he had shielded Dagger from the blast, since Dagger was right beneath him.

I got Dagger out and looked at both of them. Dagger seemed alright, although she was unconscious. Zidane, on the other hand, was a wreck. It looked like he had multiple broken bones in areas, and he had multiple cuts and burns. I reached into my pocket, pulled out a hi-potion, uncorked it, carefully opened Zidane's mouth, and poured it into his mouth. Zidane didn't respond to this.

This was not a good sign. Zidane's body began to heal, and I opened one of his eyes. I grabbed a piece of burning debris and held it close to Zidane's eye. From what I could see, his pupil wasn't responding; he was in a coma.

I heard Dagger cough, and turned my attention to her. Cid and Tot were already taking care of her. I walked over to her and gave her a potion, since her wounds weren't serious. She looked at me. "Michael…are Zidane and Eiko alright? Where are they?"

I smiled. "They're both alive, Dagger. Eiko is fine, and Zidane will wake up, eventually." She slowly got back up to her feet.

Cid, Tot, and I tried to stop her, but she was stubborn. As soon as she saw the destruction before her, she fainted. I caught her before she fell, and picked her up. 'Darn it. This isn't good' I thought.

I turned to see that Eiko was back on her feet. I also saw that Eiko was hugging Vivi, tightly. This lifted my spirits, but I knew that this wasn't the time or place for this. I called to them. "Guys, we need help, fast. Dagger fainted, and Zidane's in a coma."

They both ran over to us, and both of them tried to lift Zidane. Thanks to my training, Vivi was able to lift Zidane's legs, but Eiko was having trouble with his head. Fortunately, Freya, Amarant, and Steiner showed up to assist us.

With there help we got Zidane and Dagger down to the harbor. We boarded the Blue Narciss, and set sail for Lindblum Harbor. While we were sailing, however, Cid let out a gasp. I turned and saw him looking towards the sky. I turned, looked up, and saw an airship sail over our heads. I could also hear a few people talking, and as the ship passed over us; I saw Black Mages. I knew that it was them that I had heard talking, and I also knew what that ship was; the Hilda Garde 1.