The Dark Messenger
Chapter 3
The Prima Vista II creaked and moaned as it flew across the skyline. Lindblum was in sight, even at this distance. The city was so massive.
Zidane walked out on deck and stared at the sky – the sun was heading west fast. He sighed and stared down below the ship… and then stared up… and then turned around… Holy crap, there was a lot of air traffic. A cargo ship from Dali passed by; now that the mages were no longer in production, the town could flourish as one big farm. Most of the crops that were used in Alexandria came from Dali, and Lindblum had its fair share too.
Zidane remembered the Black Waltzes for a moment and frowned; all they had really wanted was to justify their existence, just as he had. Ah well, they probably deserved what they got.
Marcus walked up on deck and patted Zidane on the back. "See how quickly the steam engine has spread? Cid really is a genius." Zidane nodded, staring at the giant gates of the Castle City.
"Cid was a good friend; hell, he still is. But I can't let him know I'm here."
Marcus nodded. "Heh, I'll take care of ya." He reached for his sword and drew it, and Zidane drew a dagger. They clanged them together, and said in unison, "Through thick and thin, Tantalus sticks together!"
The massive gates began to creak open as the theatre ship entered; even as big as the Prima Vista was, the gates only had to crack open slightly. The ship then sped up a bit, heading for the docks.
Zidane grinned staring down at the bustling streets climbing the walls in rows, the big buildings, the air cab tracks, the castle, the river flowing through the natural park in the center of the city. He eyed Tantalus's hideout immediately – he could never forget where it was. A little above the center in the theatre district.
The ship came to a halt in the docks, and was hooked up and secured with more scaffolding. Zidane leapt off once more and landed on his butt this time. Ow. He considered putting his hood up, but decided against it. No one would recognize him.
After the crew all began marching towards the hideout, Zidane finally left. The sights from here were amazing.
The hideout looked good; better even. The crew had really fixed it up, and even added on. It looked nice, for once. Baku just hollered when Zidane commented on it, and said that he had told Cinna to keep it dirty and seedy. The stocky pig man hadn't listened, apparently.
"All right, crew, let's dish." Baku stated, sitting down in the center of the main room. "We need to plan this attack."
Zidane raised his hand for silence. "The Burmecian… Trekkto, right?" Baku nodded. "Trekkto gave us a bit of info you guys might find interesting."
Blank leaned in. Zidane continued. "The Lindblum Commerce Guild is sending a shipment of gil to Burmecia via air. They want to help in the restoration project, or something. So we need to board their transport freighter, stick up some idiots, and run off with the cash."
"When is this shipment heading out?" Blank queried, grinning. He apparently found it amusing that the king of a country was now planning a petty heist.
"Four days, tops. Even if we're not totally sure, we'll know the ship when we see it. It's got the LCG logo on it, and apparently looks pretty fortified." Zidane stated matter-of-fact.
"Whoawhoawhoa. You're not planning on attacking this freighter in the THEATRE SHIP, are you?" Marcus asked.
"No way, Jose… er… Marcus! We'll beat up the guys who are in charge of one of the escort ships and then commandeer it. It'll be slick!" Cinna replied, slamming his fist on the table, as if to emphasize 'slick.'
"Alright, guys. You got it? The news'll probably feature a story about this transport, so when it does, we'll know to move. If they don't, then we'll have to commandeer the escort via the PV II. Not something I want to do, really." Baku muttered, glancing around the table. "Everyone clear?"
"Roger!" The four others burst in unison.
Zidane got up. "I'm heading to the Industrial District for a beer, man. Nothing like Lindblum booze."
Marcus chuckled. "If you see a dude named Crizzo, tell 'im I've got his 20 gil."
Zidane gave a mocking salute and marched out the door.
The air cab hissed to a stop in the Industrial District's station. Zidane marched out, surrounded by people from every line of life. Burmecians, Alexandrians, nobles from Treno, even some dwarves from Conde Petie. Damn, the steam engine was popular. He'd have to be careful to make sure that no Alexandrians recognized him.
He took a few steps and found himself confronted by a rather boorish dwarf holding a short sword. "Hey, you're dat felleh 'oo cam to Conde Petie wi' da Pintie Het!"
Zidane waved his hands. "No no, you must be thinking of someone else, I've never-"
"Nah, ah'm preety shurr et waz yoo. Ta liddle Pintie Het boy an' the gal. Ya married her thar, right? Went ta da sanctuary." The dwarf said, smiling oddly.
"I don't think we've ever met, sir." Zidane lied, trying to get out of this awkward conversation.
"Mayhap ya're right thar, felleh. Ya do look a wee bit differunt."
"I… I gotta go." Zidane said, brushing past the dwarf and out of the station.
Zidane dashed to the bar, hoping to avoid any more 'old friends.' Aaaaand…he was out of luck.
"Zidane? Er, uh… Your majesty!" Erin the airship pilot saluted, as Zidane screeched to a halt in front of her. "What are you doing here? Where's the queen, sire?"
There'd be no 'Do I know you?' ing out of this. "Uh… heheheheh… She uh… Listen, Erin, no one is supposed o know I'm here, OKAY?"
"So you're running away, sire?" She asked, head cocked to one side. "Would you cut out the sire thing? That's exactly WHY I ran off! I'm not cut out for that stuff." Zidane muttered, staring at the floor.
"So… you came back to join Tantalus?" Erin queried. "Yeah, pretty much." Zidane murmured. Erin laughed.
"You've gone a long way, Zidane." The Genome leered.
"Just keep this quiet. I… I guess Regent Cid can know, but make sure no one else does! ESPECIALLY Eiko."
"All… all right, Zidane, you can trust me." Erin said, smiling. "Besides, it is nice to see you again."
Zidane thanked her and bought her a drink. They spent a while catching up.
"Your majesty! King Zidane is missing!" Steiner burst, running through the halls, toppling people over as he dashed like a mad horse. "The king is amiss!"
Beatrix jumped out, her hands raised. "Hold up, Steiner!" She yelled, watching him screech to a halt. Even though they were married, they were still formal with their titles.
"General, Zidane is missing! I've searched the grounds, the harbor, and the entire city!" Adelbert yelled, freaking out. He looked like a roasted chicken, he was so red.
"You checked Ruby's theatre?" Beatrix queried. "Indeed so! He wasn't there, nor were the thieves!"
"Do you think he could have ran off?"
"With Tantalus? Why would he?" Steiner asked, concerned.
"You've seen the way he acts here. He hates it. And I think the queen is the only one who doesn't know." Beatrix reasoned, shouldering the Save the Queen. "I think we should go to Lindblum. He'll be there and-"
"What are you talking about, General? I'm right here."
Beatrix whirled around to come face to face with 'Zidane', who was grinning. "Sire! Where have you been?"
"I… took a little trip to Dali. I needed the fresh air." The doppelganger stated, eyeing Beatrix suspiciously.
"On foot, my liege?" Steiner asked.
"Indeed. I ran, you see. Quite fun."
Beatrix was now eyeing HIM suspiciously. "You highness, I'm sure the queen would like to see you. We haven't informed her of your disappearance yet."
"Indeed." Said 'Zidane', "I apologize for any inconvenience." With that, he walked off.
When Beatrix was sure he was out of earshot she spoke. "That was NOT the king." Steiner's eyes widened. "Blasphemy!"
Beatrix smiled. "Let's not jump to conclusions YET, I suppose. But… keep an eye on him… for me, hun?"
Steiner gulped. "All… all right, dear."
Zidane wandered the streets on Lindblum, taking in the sights. The city had rebuilt fabulously; you could hardly tell that there had been an attack at all. The blond Genome walked into the market and stared around. These were his people.
"What up?"
"Word." Replied the Lindblumian he had just questioned. Zidane was nearing the air cab station when he halted. One of the customers at a weapons cart… had a tail.
Said tailed human was bartering for some swords, it seemed. He was clearly a Genome. The hair, the tail. Although… his hair… was black. Dark black. He wore a red robe sort of thing, as it was kind of cold today. On closer inspection, Zidane could see he was carrying a golden glaive. Huh, he had never seen anyone other than a Burmecian use a lance.
One thing was clear – this was one of the 'new arrivals' from the Black Mage Village. But what he was doing here had Zidane at a loss. So, he decided to investigate.
"Hey kid, shouldn't you be back on the Outer Continent?"
The black-haired Genome eyed Zidane in shock for a moment, cast a magic spell knocking our hero down, and made a mad dash toward the air cab station. Zidane leapt up and dashed after him, daggers drawn. "Get back here!"
"Piss off!" The Genome replied. Wow, a touchy Genome who wasn't Zidane. Interesting.
"I just wanna know what you're doing here!" Zidane screamed, chasing him into the station.
"Go to hell, Tribal!" Wow, a Genome who actually knew his last name. This was interesting.
The runner jumped into a cab and it shot off towards the docks. Zidane skidded to a halt, literally. "What the hell…?" He tried to find some logical explanation to this, but found very few. "Maybe Mikoto asked him to get some things? No, he wouldn't have acted so weird…"
The blond Genome sighed. No use concerning himself with it now. He walked over to another cab and hitched a ride to the Theatre District.
"The news is out! The ship is leaving today, boys!" Baku hollered to his crew, slamming a newspaper onto the table. "Everybody know what to do?"
"Cinna and I will sneak onto the escort boat and commandeer it." Zidane stated.
"I'm supposed to distract the guards while Zidane and Cinna get on the escort boat, and then knock them out afterwards." Marcus said, grinning.
"I'm supposed to infiltrate the freighter as one of the guards and give the signal when it is time to strike." Blank said.
"And I'll join Zidane, Cinna, and Marcus on the commandeered shuttle! Gwahahahahaha, this'll be easier than squashing a bug!" Baku finished. "So, move out boys!"
"Yes sir!" The four chimed, exiting the hideout. One air cab ride to the docks and they'd be in business.
The cab docked in… the docks, and the five got out. Zidane had gotten rid of his cloak for something more reminiscent of his old thief outfit. He wore a black shirt but had lost the vest, and this shirt had sleeves. He wore leather gloves, which were useful for gripping pipes, as well as weapons. He had a belt on, which had about three daggers hung on it, and a swallow, more precisely, the Ogre, was strapped to his back. He wore pants similar to his old blue ones, and boots, although these ones were less restricting to motion.
Zidane and Cinna ducked behind a few barrels while Marcus marched up to the two guards protecting an escort boat.
"You guys the ones who're in charge of that shipment of gil?"
"This is a restricted dock, citizen, leave."
"Oh yeah? Must be pretty important."
Zidane motioned for Cinna to follow him and leapt over the barrels, dashing for the boat. Marcus was doing a good job.
And just like that, they were in. Zidane marched up to the helm and fired up the boat.
Woomph! Smack! Pmmf! Marcus had initiated phase two.
"Hey, what're you two doing here?" Crap, there was another guy on board. Zidane unhooked the swallow from his back and knocked the guy over the head with the flat of one of the blades. Cinna then hauled him off the shuttle, and left him amongst cargo. The guy moaned as he came to, but Cinna whacked him over the head with his hammer, and that was the end of that.
Marcus ran on board, followed by Baku, who had come from the dock that the freighter was parked in. "All right, Blank is amongst their ranks! Gwahahahahaha, nice lump on that guy. What did you do, Cinna, whack him with that hammer o' yours? Gwahahahaha!"
Zidane began steering the ship after the big freighter, which was just departing. After a few minutes they were through the main gates of the city, and on their way to Burmecia… and their heist.
They had just passed over the exit of Gizamaluke's Grotto when Blank finally marched out onto the deck of the freighter and gave the thumbs up to Marcus, who was on watch.
"All right, Zidane, let's do it."
The Genome nodded, taking the ship in closer. "Prepare for boarding action."
"Gwahahahahahaha! Let's go, guys!" Baku hollered, drawing the greatsword from his belt.
Zidane was level with the freighter's deck when Cinna steadied a board which was their crude method of infiltration the target. Baku and Marcus followed across, while Zidane steadied the boat. He'd need to be quick; without a pilot, it'd go down.
The thief ran for the board and leapt across, landing on the deck with a thud. He turned and watched the escort ship fall and crash on the ground below. Fortunately, no one would see this or their little escapade, as it was always dark and rainy in Burmecia.
"How many of them did ya get, Blank?" Zidane queried, hoping the number to be high.
"Two."
"TWO?"
"Two."
"Ah well, let's just do this the old fashioned way. Cinna and I will go secure the gil, while you, Marcus, and Blank take care of the crew. Remember, we don't want any casualties, OKAY Zidane?" Baku asked.
"Yes sir, boss sir." Zidane saluted, and dashed off to the front of the ship.
As expected, a crew member dashed out, lance drawn. Hm, it was a Burmecian. Zidane drew two daggers and dashed forward, preparing to strike. Baku had said no casualties, but this might not be so easily achieved.
"You! I've seen you!" The Burmecian yelled, leering. "You're the king of Alexandria! You're King Zidane!"
"What? Nononononono, I'm just a petty thief." Zidane declared, sweating out of concern.
"Alexandria is attacking again! You'll pay this time!" The soldier yelled, slashing the lance. Zidane jumped to avoid the swipe.
"I swear, I'm just a thief!"
"There's only one person on the Mist Continent who has a tail and ISN'T a Burmecian!"
Zidane cursed under his breath. Where in hell did Marcus and Blank go?
"Alexandria is attacking again!" The soldier screamed. Others came, bewildered by his claims, but they saw Zidane and knew.
Zidane dodged another sweep and sighed. This couldn't end well.
And, almost in response to his thoughts, the ship began heading down, nose first. What the hell had they done?
Blank came dashing out, followed by Marcus. The two grabbed Zidane and ran to the back of the ship, where Baku and Cinna were standing, rather disoriented.
"What did you DO?" Baku queried, grabbing onto a railing. "The ship started tipping, sir! We didn't even touch the thing!" Marcus yelled, sliding down deck and hooking himself onto a rail. Zidane used his tail to hang on, which was quite useful.
Tantalus was thrown off balance as the nose collided with the moist earth. The sound of the hull ripping apart rang in Zidane's ears, as the ship, or what was left of it, skidded to a halt and slammed into a rock face. The front of the freighter was literally crunched into a box. The back was much luckier. And then, for a long time, silence. No one moved a muscle.
"Well… that was… vaguely familiar." Cinna muttered, throwing his hammer across the deck. He stood up and stretched. "Hey, at least now we can secure the gil!"
Zidane jumped up. "Don't you think that the Burmecians will be back? This isn't a laughing matter."
As if on cue, the fortunate Burmecians who hadn't been smashed into a patty lunged towards Tantalus, drawing their lances.
Zidane unhooked the Ogre and got into battle position. Baku drew his greatsword, and Cinna picked up his hammer. Blank and Marcus had been knocked out.
"You'll pay, Alexandrian!" The lead Burmecian announced, dashing towards Zidane. The Genome blocked a sweep by spinning the Ogre and deflecting the slash. He then steadied himself and slyly grabbed a dagger with his tail, jabbing at the rat. The soldier in response backed down a bit and charged a bit of magic. "Fira!"
Zidane jumped to the side to avoid the burst of flame, but found the tip of his tale on fire. He frantically attempted to blow it out.
Baku slashed at another rat, the giant sword could have cut the poor Burmecian in two, had he no leapt back. Baku's opponent tried something more original and lunged behind the big guy, jabbing at his back.
Cinna… wasn't as fortunate. He ducked a swipe and threw his hammer at the opponent's knee cap. Contact. "Ow! That really hurt! That might leave a mark, you idiot! Who throws a hammer? Honestly!" The soldier yelled, rubbing his knee. Cinna grinned.
Zidane swiped again with his three blades; the Burmecian was overwhelmed. The Genome slashed at the lance's handle, cutting it in half. The Burmecian, now defenseless, waited for his doom.
"Well? Finish me, you Alexandrian BASTARD!"
Zidane stopped moving. Should he mercilessly slay this poor soldier? No.
'Do it.' "No, he's unarmed." 'Who cares? Kill him! Lop off his HEAD!' "NO!" Zidane yelled. Baku and Cinna exchanged glances. 'KILL HIM!'
Something took control of Zidane and he entered a Trance. "Meo Twister!" 'He' yelled. The eruption of wind shattered the deck of the ship, sending the Burmecians down to their deaths. The sickening thump of them landing on the ground rang in Baku's ears, as he watched Zidane return to normal.
"Kid, what the hell was that all about?"
"I… I dunno. It was like I couldn't control myself once I got near Trancing. Something took over…"
Baku looked uneasy. "Try to stay together, kid. That is NOT good." Zidane gasped for air, nodding. Could this be his angel of death abilities trying to take over? He felt bad… he had just slew innocents without a second thought.
Baku picked up Marcus and carried him piggy back and Zidane picked up Blank. Cinna looked distraught. "What about the sweet sweet juices of financial independence?"
"No time! Burmecians'll be here any second!" Zidane shouted, running towards the rock face that the front of the ship had smashed into. They'd hide on top; it was big, and would make a good camp.
The Genome sprang up the wall with cat-like reflexes, dragging Blank the whole way. Baku just tossed Marcus up and then helped Cinna along, climbing the wall the old fashioned way.
They laid low for a moment, catching their breath, waiting for whatever may come.
"There! Smashed into the face! The freighter!" Zidane peeked over the edge of the cliff, staring at the Burmecians on approach. "We received word that Alexandrians attacked the ship."
"What? But Queen Alexandros XVII has maintained good relations with our leaders!"
"But Kobar said that he saw the King of Alexandria attacking! He was with a band of thieves who are known to be friends of the Alexandrian royalty!"
"Those bastard Alexandrians… We must strike first! But let us deal with the now! Search the ship, secure the cargo, take the wounded to the Grotto HQ! And if you find the king and his 'friends', take them to the prison camp at the Burmecian Outpost Wall."
"Yes sir!"
Zidane sighed, pulling himself back towards the center of the hill. "Boss?" He whispered.
"Yeah?"
"Plans?" Zidane asked, staring at Baku.
"Well, we should move to another area up here. Farther from the eyes of Burmecians. Let's drag Blank and Marcus, and Cinna? Try to get some firewood, but BE CAREFUL."
"Right, boss." The pig man stated, sneaking off towards a wooded grove. Zidane got up, but stayed low, dragging Blank farther out. Baku did the same.
After a while, they halted, near the farthest edge of the bluff. Zidane stood all the way up here; it was safe… or, safER. Cinna came trotting back with a good amount of fire wood, which he lit.
"We'll have to try to mask the smoke." Zidane muttered, and then realized that with the dark and stormy façade of this area, that would be pointless. He then looked to Baku. "Well boss? This is good for now, but how will we get back to Lindblum?"
"Gwahahahahaha! Don't you know me well enough to realize that I always have a failsafe?" He pulled out a map and pointed to various areas marked with Xs. Zidane grabbed a lit piece of wood to see the scroll. "Here, here, and here. This is, as you know, Gizamaluke's Grotto. That was always a good chance for escape. However, since the attack on Burmecia, the rats have gotten more… protective of their homeland. We'd have to sneak into their military blockade at the exit of the grotto just to get by, and, that would be dumb, kid. Gwahahahaha, maybe not for you, anyway, but a big fellah like me wouldn't make it two steps."
"So what do we do?" Zidane inquired, rubbing his neck. "We go underground. See this mark inside the map of the grotto? That's the exit of an underground stream that the Burmecians use as a secret route in case of an attack. And this mark? On that bluff waaaaaay over there? That's the entrance. We sneak through the tunnel and get out into the Lindblum Regency. Get it?"
"Hmm… Interesting. But won't there be guards?"
"You bet. We'll just have to take them out. Shouldn't be too many. That is unless of course they don't throw forces at us from BOW." Baku muttered, eying the north with ill contempt.
"BOW?" Zidane asked. "The Burmecian Outpost Wall. It's a prison camp, and another militaristic zone. But they don't watch the escape tunnel too much. It shouldn't be a problem. Now, there's something I want you to do."
"Yes sir, boss sir?"
"Return to the crash and get some supplies; food, blankets, tents, anything! It's night time, and it would be stupid to head out now. But BE CAREFUL. Don't cause any more trouble. Be the shadow, kid." Baku said, grinning. Zidane smiled. This could be fun.
With that, the Genome dashed off towards the ship. After a bit of a walk, he stopped, eyeing the ship…er, remains of the ship. The Burmecians were using it as an outpost. Lit torches lined the walls.
"Did you find anything?"
"No sir, the king and his thieves must have abandoned ship before or after the crash. We brought the few remaining wounded to the Grotto blockade, but unfortunately, most of the crew died in the crash, or were killed."
"Damn Alexandrians…And the cargo?"
"We are in the process of removing the packages of gil and taking them to the blockade for safe keeping. I suggest making this a militarized zone, Commander, at least for the time being. It is a strategic position, and a good hunk of the freighter is still intact, mainly crew quarters and the galley."
Zidane smiled inwardly. Crew quarters may yield blankets and a tent, and the galley would have a full pantry.
"Good work, Captain. Keep it up and a promotion may be in order."
"Thank you SIR!" With that, the Burmecian commander began trekking back to the Grotto blockade. Zidane leapt off the edge of the cliff effortlessly, gripped a pipe with his gloved hands, flipped off, hooked himself with his tail, and lowered into the corridors of the once great ship. It was obvious that this was crew quarters.
With little difficulty he scored the supplies necessary and began marching to the galley…but he'd have to sneak through the cargo area, which was swarming with soldiers. Zidane left his burlap sack of supplies in a room and sunk low to the ground, creeping through the maze of packages of gil. There must've been eighty-million's worth here!
He was almost to the galley's entrance when he eyed a medium-sized sack of the silver coins, which were all brand new. His eyes widened, and, as if it was inane, he muttered, "Shiny…" He contemplated it, grabbed a handful of coins, and began scooping them into his pockets.
"HEY! King Zidane Tribal the First of Alexandria, you are under arrest by the Democratic Republic of Burmecia!" Shit. He had been found out.
Zidane bailed, scooped up his sack of supplies, and lunged for the exposed piping near the outer hull. He flipped up, and clung to a rock, his grip slipping. Dammit!
To make matters worse, spears were now hurtling up at him. He reached out with his tail and gripped an exposed branch, swinging up onto the bluff. It was raining again, and his clothes were soaked and heavy. But if he didn't move, wet clothing would soon be the least of his concerns. The ran as fast as he could to the self-proclaimed camp and fell flat on his face.
"They… know… that… we're… here…" He sputtered, his mouth full of soggy grass. Baku sighed. "Kid, what did I tell YOU? Aw well, it's not your fault. I guess we'll just have to head to the next bluff and camp there."
Zidane nodded as best as he could against the ground and attempted to steady his breathing.
END