Home of the Heart
By: Cold Rain
Rated: PG-13 for mild violence
NOTE TO READERS: Hi, Readers! This chapter is so short... So far, the couples that I know will happen are Garnet and Zidane, Beatrix and Steiner, and Freya and Lord Fratley. This fanfic starts near the ending of the game (SPOILER ALERT, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED) when the team is escaping the Iifa Tree while Zidane stays behind. The quotes might be a little off but gimme a break, I haven't played FF IX lately. This is my 1st Final Fantasy fanfic (even though I've played the games a lot) so no flames, please! Extra spacing between paragraphs means scene/time transitions. Oh, and I don't own Final Fantasy IX, any of the characters, etc.
DISCLAIMER: If you didn't read the Note to Readers here it is again: I don't own the Final Fantasy IX, any of the characters, etc. I just own the fanfic.
CHAPTER 1: The "Daring" Escape
The Iifa Tree is on a rampage now; its roots flailing wildly destroying everything that moves. Eight figures run for their lives; a thief with a tail from the Tantalus troupe, the summoner princess of Alexandria, a prototype black mage created from Mist, a strange hungry creature from a swamp, a tall assassin with bright red hair, a Burmecian dragon knight, the Captain of the Pluto Knights, and a summoner from Madain Sari. The thief, Zidane, urges the motley bunch into an airship, the Hildagarde 3 but doesn't follow them in. Eiko, the small blue haired summoner from Madain Sari, hangs on the railing of the airship and yells, "Hurry up, Zidane!"
"Go on without me, I have something to take care of here!" Zidane answers as Princess Garnet, a.k.a. Dagger, looks down towards Zidane, a worried expression on her face.
"But-" Dagger starts to protest.
"Just go!" Zidane yells; it's too dangerous for them to stay.
"...Alright," Dagger frowns; the airship starts to steer away carrying the seven companions from Zidane. After they reach a safe distance, Zidane starts to dash into the Iifa Tree. The roots of the giant Mist factory swing madly at him while he desperately searches for someone. Zidane jumps over the attacking roots and finds what he's looking for. A silver haired figure lies on a platform-like area with a dejected look on his face. Zidane notices the area is surrounded by a huge gap, but that's no problem for Zidane, the amazing thief of Tantalus! He gets a running start, leaps up into the air, and... falls down. Luckily, he's able to climb up and reach his "older brother". Zidane stands up and looks at the fellow Genome, who technically looks like something the cat spit-up right now.
"Hey, there you are," Zidane smiles, "I was worried I wouldn't find you."
"Why... did you come here?" Kuja frowns; he cannot for the life of him understand how Zidane's mind works, "Why are you... risking your life... to save me?"
"It's what I do," Zidane grins widely. Kuja looks away from Zidane seemingly embarrassed that they're related.
"I finally appreciate the value of life... but it's too late for that," Kuja frowns; after all that's happened he's going to die here. Maybe he deserves it for what he did, for all the lives and homes he destroyed...
"It's never too late, now let's get out of here," Zidane suggests; then the Iifa tree's roots surround and crush them. Zidane looks around, (Whoa... It looks like I almost bit the big one this time...) Zidane looks down and notices that Kuja isn't having as much luck; he's unconscious and gasping for air, which isn't doing much since a root is crushing him and what little oxygen he's trying to collect in his lungs. Zidane desperately looks for a way to save himself and Kuja, they can't die like this! (There has to be someway out of here! Everyone is waiting for me to come back to Alexandria! Eiko, Vivi, Freya, Amarant, Quina, Rust- I mean Steiner, and Dagger... Dagger, what should I do?) Zidane closes his eyes and thinks of Dagger, she's waiting for him in the dress she wore a few days before her inauguration and she's singing their song... Zidane absentmindedly starts to hum to himself which for some reason relaxed the roots a little. (Huh? Wait a minute, this is perfect! I can reach my daggers!) Zidane smiles, grabs his right dagger, and hacks off the root that was crushing Kuja, (Well, now that he can breathe again I should concentrate on getting us out!) Then Zidane starts to hack the roots of the Iifa Tree out of the way. About an hour later he has enough room to squeeze out then drag Kuja out. (Another hurtle cleared!) Zidane smiles, (Now all I have to do is get us to civilization!)
Chapter 1 is done! Read and Review! No flames, this is my first FF IX fanfic. Advice will help, though! Tell me about the couples you'd like to see! ;3