Brahne's Story

Disclaimer: I own nothing of FFIX but this story!


11. A Message from Treno

The wind had picked up speed, lashing through the grass and causing rippling motions over Gaia's landscape. Rain poured down, swept away by the wind until it whipped up into blizzards as the sky flashed threateningly to show its position over the world below it. Branches had been hacked off trees, stones lifted from the earth and random scraps were tumbling about the ground under the gale's mighty force. It was through this image of a wild storm that a dark figure appeared in the near distance.

Dr.Tot had been walking aimlessly for miles; battered and bruised yet completely determined to make it to his desired destination, he had the look of a man who had just been beaten up by thugs. His glasses beheld a crack where he had struggled to fight off a particularly nasty gale, his usual professional attire had been reduced to rags and he staggered about carelessly, physically exhausted. The only thing that kept him from not falling over was the burning need to reveal everything he had heard. He just needed to reach Treno, reach civilisation and send a warning to Steiner. The jesters were working for this mysterious man, the jesters had murdered the King, the jesters had transformed Brahne and Brahne had somehow joined them… how he wanted to shout this out loud. But who would listen? All around him was miles and miles of lonesome landscape.

He grimaced about this only for a second before a sudden rush of determination made him pick up pace. He could feel the wind lash against his face like sharp knives and rain batter down upon on his skin until it was red raw but no amount of pain was going to thwart his plan. He continued to wade through the wet grass until finally, after a good hour or so, he could faintly see the outline of a city.

Even though the weather was still dull, even though he was still soaked to the bone, even though he had never been so exhausted; his whole heart suddenly lifted. The city looked like a golden kingdom to him, inviting and warm. He wasted not a moment- his careless stumbling turned into an energetic run. The wind rushed over his face feeling refreshing at last, finally he was running with the knowledge that Treno was near. A few minutes later and he was finally there.

Arriving here was supposed to bring him relief and comfort but instead Dr. Tot found himself freeze at the entrance of the city, he shivered and it had nothing to do with the weather. Resting in the city centre was a silver dragon, its breathing louder than anything else for the city was awkwardly silent. It was if a spell had been cast on a once bustling city making it fall into a deep silence within a second. It was unnatural, frightening, threatening and here, at the heart of this atmosphere, was a man who had fought a storm to be here. Now all he wanted to do was leave but his body seemed to have disconnected from his spine in a matter of a few seconds. He stood still.

"It seems, Dr.Tot, that we keep having these meetings," a voice said from nowhere, cutting through the silence like a knife through block ice. The slim man who Dr.Tot hoped he would never encounter again stepped forward, looking like he usually did. A combination of amusement and coolness showed on his face while the complete opposite look showed on Dr.Tot's.
"W-W-What are you doing here?" the wise tutor stammered.
"You didn't think I'd just let you go like that did you?" the man sneered, his voice ridden with mockery. "Knowing full well that you'd run like a hero to save the day?"
Dr. Tot said nothing, he bowed his head knowing all the man said was true.
"I dislike these little visits of ours," he continued, "It always means you've been getting in my way and making me angry. If you had any sense you would keep quiet or these visits could turn even nastier. You understand what I'm saying?"
A chill slid down Dr.Tot's neck and he tried to speak but his voice caught half way in his throat until nothing but a squeak came out.
"You see if I find out that you have not been quietly getting on with research then there's going to be death and destruction. If I were you I'd be staying out of trouble, more specifically out of Alexandria contact, like a good old man. You wouldn't want to be responsible for the death of the royal family now, do you?"
"You wouldn't do that," Dr.Tot muttered, half unsure of himself. The slim man laughed.
"I don't feel any mercy. You should know that from those shocks you got. That's just a warm up."
The man hitched himself upon his dragon (that was still sleepy) and stroked it tenderly.
"I hope you have taken notice of my warning. Not just for your sake but for all your friends at the castle or even Alexandria itself…"
The dragon lifted in the air and he added: "… It depends what I feel like destroying" before he flew into the night that had turned an inky blue.

Dr. Tot fell into a heap on the ground out of exhaustion or the sheer horridness of his situation as the city became alive all around him. People trampled over him, not seeing that a man lay below them, and there was a buzz in the air of conversations weaving in and out of each other.

"I can't believe I went to bid for one item and ended up with ten!" -
"You know you really should go see the world-"
"Atrocious is what it is! I'm going to give him a piece of my mind-"

Dr. Tot heard a million voices interweave in his ears but only a few sentences rose out of the babble and one in particular pounded in his head repeatedly.
"I hope you have taken notice of my warning. Not just for your sake but for all your friends at the castle or even Alexandria itself…" continued to haunt him. As he lay on the ground like a broken toy his mind became filled with horrific images of Alexandria flattened. Fire raged through the kingdom tearing down the market and then reaching the castle. He saw Garnet as a little six year old crying inside and Brahne as her previous self call out to him for help. He screwed up his eyes, trying to rid himself of the picture but it wouldn't go away. What choice did he have but to keep quiet? He felt anger explode in him at the idea of saying nothing but if he issued a warning, the devastation it would cause he knew would be more than it was worth.

He picked himself up, dusting his tattered clothes down and making his way down a long and winding street. He staggered once again, feeling deflated and miserable. The only bright idea he had left was to seek shelter. Checking into the local inn, he sank into the bed and took off his cracked glasses. He had no option now but to stay in Treno but what would he do? He had little money so the idea of continuing any research seemed like a joke. He tossed, he turned and he tossed more plagued by thought. Then, he got angry. Kicking the wall so hard that a shelf slid to the floor, he began to think about the Princess. She would be trapped in a castle led by a monster of a human who was being used by a silver-haired psychopath for whatever reason. Not only that but two accomplices were running about undetected who were murderers. Steiner, the only protection left to Garnet, would still be under the rule of the Queen. There was nothing he could do. Nothing at all. If only somebody else in the whole of Gaia knew and could help him then maybe Garnet would be safe. But who? Suddenly, the answer flooded into his brain.

"Cid!" he cried.
It was a risk. A big risk but if it worked then Garnet would be safe. Suddenly, Dr.Tot's head was exploding with the dilemma. If he sent a note anonymously with nothing particularly alarming but enough to get the ruler of Lindblum to start monitoring the Alexandria situation then perhaps he would get away with it. Yet, if he was found out then he didn't want to think about the consequences. He sat down on his desk and thought further. Finally, he made his decision. With his hand shaking, he took a piece of thin parchment and in neat handwriting he wrote:

Protect Garnet

He slid it in a paper envelope and licked it shut. And there it was, on that night in Treno where the sky was inky blue and the people were particularly boisterous, both the envelope and the Princess' fate was sealed.