Brahne's Story

Disclaimer: I own nothing of FFIX but this story!

Well this has been a MONSTER of a chapter to get out lol. It's my biggest chapter so you're either going to kill me with a spoon or like a longer read. It's also been difficult to finish because of the changing points in the chapter (it doesn't just concentrate on one event) which I will signal by use of my old friend the pretend asterisk! (>) Anyway hope you enjoy cause now I've died of much brain use...


10. Dr.Tot's Flight

The tragic lovers faded into darkness within a final flicker of the royal chamber's fire. As the flame withered away, Dr.Tot kept his eyes firmly on Brahne. She was sobbing on her husband's chest, her bloody hands clinging onto his lifeless body like a vulnerable child who still needed protecting. Her eyes were like brown oceans pouring out her soul; any hope and happiness had gone leaving her body with a torturing emptiness. Her silent sobbing fell away and she screamed in pain.

As Dr. Tot felt his mind return fully to the future, he could still hear that very scream; smell the bitter scent of blood; feel every bit of emotion. He felt surges of anger but his body had so become weak he could barely lift an arm. Opening his eyes only greeted him with blurs. His eyesight had somehow got lost and had not yet returned, only one of his five senses seemed to be awake. His ears roared with the jesters' cackles.

"AND NOW!" a merciless voice cried. "For your foolish intervening we would like to present you with a special gift!"
Dr. Tot felt his whole body explode with pain, he screamed out in agony, feeling every surge flow through his body like poisonous snakes. His glasses slid further down his face from the sweat that drizzled down his brow but not even such excruciating pain could suppress the anger in him.
"You murdered an innocent man!" he yelled out thoughtlessly, his eyes desperately trying to focus on the red and blue blurs of the jesters. "You have ruined the life of an innocent woman!"
This was greeted with another surge of excruciating pain.
"I HOPE YOU ALL BURN IN HELL!"
And another.
"…."
He blanked out.

>

She was no more human than the most grotesque of monsters you would meet in battle. Monstrously obese with thick pallid skin like that of an elephant or a rhinoceros, Brahne's transformation was complete. The beautiful young woman whose only crime was to love had completely vanished as if such a sorrowful soul had never existed. Perhaps only a little of her soul had survived, trapped in this hideous body for there were times when the manic Queen would have flashes of sadness in her eyes as if the Brahne of the past was still mourning. It was only for a brief second, if at all and not down to some pointless hope.

It seemed as if this hideous creature could have never been human. Not only did she look monstrous but her mind had become greedy, easily controlled. Her eyes glittered like they were constantly seeking invisible gold and she would have outbursts of madness as if she was constantly finding some.

At this moment, for example, she was acting particularly insane, partly because the transformation had completely taken over but mainly over the visit she received to her hide out a couple of days ago. A tall slim man with silver hair by the name of Kuja had offered her an exciting proposition. Four crystal shards, she was told, held the key to incredible power and it would all be hers if she was to help the man find them all. Anyone else might have questioned this. Anyone else might have at least secured a sum of money beforehand. Brahne, however, was more than willing to help, she had become the puppet that Kuja could manipulate in any way he pleased and she was too blinded by greed to see.

She grinned a manic smile at the thought of the power she was promised to receive as she packed up the last of her belongings. Soon she would be on her way back to a kingdom that had long forgotten her. Every bit of her monstrous body was filled with excitement and she drooled envisioning that rich kingdom.

Not looking back once, she stomped over the cold stone floor and waited for a few moments. A loud grinding noise echoed all around her, like ancient gears slowly pressing together, before there was a sharp click and light poured into the dark chambers in all directions. The dusty leather-bound books glittered in the sunlight, useless inventions that had been abandoned here in a sorrowful state suddenly looked full of life, their broken particles shining like knives ready for the kill, while potion spillages that had once dribbled purposelessly of the table began to hiss with delight for the lock on the door that had sealed this monster for so long finally creaked all the way open.

>

"He's dead."
" Dead he is"
"Are you sure?"
There was a pause. A brief sigh. A few inaudible words.
"Urgh…"
Dr. Tot opened his eyes with much difficulty, feeling his head pound with pain and his body ache with fear and exhaustion in equal measures. He groaned loudly, his hands grappling over his face in the direction of his glasses.
"He's alive!" Zorn spat out venomously at Dr.Tot's sudden burst of life and he swooped on the poor man like a bird of prey followed closely by Thorn.
"Alive he is!" Thorn repeated, poking the old tutor as if his movement was not evidence enough, his voice both ridden with surprise and disappointment.
The only person in the room who seemed to be unsurprised was the tall slim man who merely smiled.
"Welcome back," he said coolly, crossing over to where Dr.Tot was slouched.

There subsequently came a long silence where the jesters stood watching in awe at their master and the master simply circled Dr. Tot deep in thought. The nearby clock sang tick… tock… tick….tock while the wind outside occasionally moaned for attention. The air was filled with an unnerving silence as if it was waiting for something to happen in a matter of minutes. The clock's little hand slowly moved….

Tick… tock.. tick… tock…..

Tick.. tock.. tick… tock….tick….

"THUD!"

The air became suddenly heavy, filled with the noise of hustle from upstairs. Knights who had been paralysed in mid air came crashing down, Knights who had been unable to lift a leg were suddenly up and about, Knights who had unfortunately had their mouths stuck together began to yell while other Knights who had lost their weapons began a frantic search for their beloved swords- it was chaos.

Suddenly the coolness of the tall man faded away and, for the first time, he showed signs of panic.
"What should we do?" Zorn cried out, equally unprepared.
"You two do nothing. As far as the Knights are concerned you tried to capture me but failed," the master replied, his face had magically changed from an initial look of panic to the complete opposite end of the scale in one second.
"And the tutor?"
"Cast a charm, make him forget- do something to silence him you idiot!" the man yelled out, thinking that maybe letting the jesters take glory for their deeds was maybe not such a good decision now. He made a random noise like a low whistle and climbed out of the window to greet his dragon which he subsequently got on.
"There's one problem with that!" Zorn cried, following his master out.
The man was getting annoyed, his good mood was quickly falling away.
"What now?" he muttered.
"Well you see….the thing is… well… he's gone"

The dragon suddenly took off. As he sped away, the master looked back. Like the jester had said, the chair where Dr.Tot had once sat was empty. That was because the person who had once occupied that seat was making his way towards Treno.

>

Garnet felt her throat tickle. She was still crept silently behind the barrel trying not to make a sound. Even though there was only one Pluto Knight in the Grand Hall she still couldn't risk him catching her. The punishment from Steiner for disobeying orders would be more than she could bear. So here she was stuck behind a smelly barrel trying to keep as still as possible while a mad man was running about the castle and the Pluto Knights were frantically searching for him to file an arrest. This, Garnet thought to herself, was one of those moments when you wish that you had actually listened to your guardian!

"Steiner!"
All her thoughts ended and Garnet stooped forward to look through the hole in the barrel at that very guardian. The Captain of the Guards had entered the hall, his face puffy and red from giving orders, followed by the ghoulish figures of Zorn and Thorn.
"Yes… yes what is it?" Steiner wheezed, looking like he was going to have a heart attack and fall down.
"We saw the man!"
"Saw the man we did!"
"Where?" Steiner questioned the jesters, his state of health suddenly seemed unimportant.
"He got away!"
"Got away he did!"
"You're sure?"
Steiner knew what the jesters was saying was true, the Pluto Knights had searched all over, but still he had some false hope lingering on. Suddenly his face went redder than hell itself.

"Dammit!" he cursed. "DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT!"
He jumped up and down in anger and his armour moved with him.
"I'll have that man's head on a platter if it kills me! Even if I have to give up my own spare time to do it! He won't be so lucky next time! I'll search everywhere! Every nook, every cranny, every-"

The door of the hall opened and Steiner's heart froze. The jesters froze. Garnet froze.
A shadow began to grow over the hall, so vast it put every candle out. The hall went dark and a sudden cold atmosphere descended on the castle. Steiner fell to his knees, his whole body trembling.
"Who's there?" he called out. With no answer he asked again. "I said who is there?"

The figure in the doorway shed its black shadow and the ugliest, most grotesque person you could ever imagine stepped forward. The figure of Queen Brahne stood in all its new glory. Steiner drained all of colour in one second (which was quite an achievement considering his previous colour) and looked like he was going to be sick.
"Welcome back, Your Grace," Zorn addressed the figure, bowing down to the creature.

It took a while for Steiner to fully comprehend who the new arrival was. He gasped, he shrieked, he whimpered. Finally he said: "…Brahne?"…
The Queen swept past him with no recognition, her eyes were obviously eager to claim her kingdom once more and the jesters were just as eager to accompany her.
"What is.. this?" Steiner whispered to himself, still on his knees.

Nobody answered him. The hall was silent and the darkness closed in from all directions. All who remained was Steiner and the young woman who sat hidden from view. Garnet lay motionless, her body was paralysed with emotion. Her eyes streamed silent tears, somehow she knew that her loving Brahne was gone. Never before had she felt so empty. Even when Brahne had disappeared, she had the hope that she would return and would once again brush her hair and sing to her. That hope had been torn away from her in the space of a few minutes. Like Steiner, she knew something had changed. On this fateful day it became clear that darkness had come back to Alexandria. Once again, Garnet was the girl who saw evil.

O.k for the sake of my health please R&R lol! I have more to add about Dr.Tot's escape to Treno and also I got a kidnapping to arrange! ; )