Summer vacation has arrived! That doesn't mean I can just post daily though, since I'm hoping to get a job to earn me some extra money. However, posts will occur more often than once a month, if that makes you guys feel any better. I do have marching band practice starting soon, so that's going to take up quite a bit of time. And now, of course, we have the shout outs:
Eika – You seem to love this story, don't you? I think you either read or wrote something wrong: Freya and Vivi aren't against Zidane; they're his comrades. Also, your next guess is wrong but keep trying! And finally…stop giving Zidane pixie sticks! I was wondering why he was bouncing all over the place.
Ameki – Glad you like it!
Rifa – I don't mind picky people. However, you are wrong: genomes don't have souls. Only Zidane, Kuja, and Mikoto have souls out of all the genomes. I'll keep your advice about my use of the magic system in mind.
Ravyn Crescent – You have multiple theories? I'd be completely lost at this point in the story. But I'm glad you like it, and I hope you keep reading.
Wonwingangel – I agree with you! Fanfiction is definitely a good scapegoat. Death Angel letters freaking you out, eh? Guess I'll have to write a few more. As for the dropping of a few clues, no there haven't really been any. But this chapter will have some, as well as some action.
Henrika Fanatic – You know…your comments are kind of confusing. It took me a while to understand what you were trying to say. The characters aren't acting like they do in the story because something has happened to Zidane, which in turn affected them all. That's why Vivi is hurting others, and Freya killed Steiner. I realize it is confusing because I have written the reason why Zidane is going crazy.
Chapter Seven – Training Begins
"Nice try," Zidane laughed as the Grand Dragon's attack narrowly missed decapitating him. Having flown Choco out to the islands near Daguerreo, Zidane had been constantly training for the upcoming war. Now, he was facing off against his fourth Grand Dragon of the day.
"Thundaga!" the dragon hissed. Every creature upon the face of Gaia has its own unique language, but the names of magic spells are the same for all languages. Zidane, fast as he was, could not out do lightning and was struck by the powerful attack. His armor absorbed the brunt of the attack, but the force behind it threw him back by several feet. However, Zidane flipped to his feet as if the attack had never occurred.
Zidane snarled, "Ok! No more games! That really hurt!"
The dragon roared in agreement and snapped it jaws at Zidane. Defiantly, the blonde genome twirled the Ultima Weapon a few times in his hands before holding it ready in front of him. For a moment, nothing moved. Then, everything happened at once.
The two of them lunged for each other at the exactly same moment! Acting like its ancient ancestors, the Grand Dragon's head darted forward like a snake and tried to snap its jaws around Zidane. However, the warrior was far too experienced for that and easily evaded the attack.
"Eat this!" Zidane screamed and leaped onto the dragon's head! The dragon, furious that such a small creature could outwit it, shook its head forcefully in an attempt to dislodge Zidane. Zidane somehow managed to keep his footing and with god-like strength, he plunged his Ultima Weapon straight through the dragon's head! The dragon, one of the mightiest creatures upon the face of Gaia, died the moment the sword pierced its brain and fell hard to the ground.
"That was close," Zidane muttered as he sheathed his Ultima Weapon on his back and started to walk to Choco. He had just reached the Chocobo when Choco suddenly sprinted away at high speed, warbling its head off. Slightly confused, Zidane turned around to see three Grand Dragons lumbering towards him!
"You've got to be kidding me!" Zidane exclaimed. "I just killed four of you!"
The Grand Dragons did not stop coming towards him. For a moment, Zidane simply felt like lying down and letting it all end. But then, the idea vanished and was replaced by anger and hatred. Zidane felt his pulse rising and blood pumping through his system. Power began to surge through him as his anger lent him strength and energy. As Zidane threw back his head and screamed, his body was consumed by Trance! When he lowered his head to glare at the Grand Dragons, he was no longer Zidane. Where Zidane had once stood, the Angel of Death had replaced him.
Zidane gestured at one and simply uttered, "Solution 9!"
Raw, furious energy lanced out of his hand and struck the dragon on the left. For a moment, nothing happened. But suddenly, the dragon that had been struck by the energy wailed in pain before simply disintegrating under the sheer power of Zidane's attack! The other two Grand Dragon hesitated for a moment, giving Zidane a moment to ready himself for his greatest attack. But then, from the sky, eight more Grand Dragons landed near the original two. Now, with reinforcements to help, the ten Grand Dragons started for Zidane again. The blonde genome merely grinned before pointing his open palms at the oncoming dragons.
"GRAND LETHAL!"
Sheer, undiluted energy poured out of Zidane's palms at the speed of light. The dragons weren't even given a chance to cry out in pain. One moment, they had been sure of their victory. The next, their prey had suddenly become the predator. The energy that tore out of Zidane's hands pierced the hides of the dragons without any difficulty and shredded them to pieces. When the attack was over, the dragons were no longer recognizable.
"I need to get to Daguerreo," Zidane muttered as his Trance started to wear off. He looked around desperately for Choco before noticing that the Chocobo had returned once the danger had cleared. Zidane barely had the energy to scramble onto Choco's back, much less actually fly the Chocobo to Daguerreo. Luckily, Choco knew Zidane well enough to understand the human tongue.
"Choco, take us to Daguerreo," Zidane whispered before collapsing. Choco warbled his agreement before taking to the sky.
(Flashback)
"Place hasn't changed a bit," Zidane commented as he stepped through the doors of Oeilvert. He wasn't exaggerating either. Oeilvert, protected by massive stone doors that only an Eidolon might have the strength to break, did not feel the flow of time. The monsters, native to the planet Terra, could not leave this foreign building and thus did not affect the outside world. Except for the time that Zidane had entered to fetch the Gulug Stone for Kuja, no one else had ever entered the place to change it.
"Let me think," Zidane muttered to himself. "Where were those writings that I remembered seeing?"
Zidane started to turn down a hallway, until something caught his eye. Something that should not have been there, simply because no one except Zidane and his party knew about this place. After all, Oeilvert was located on the Forgotten Continent. Even though Cid had created the airship that didn't need Mist, not that many people were willing to travel to unexplored regions. Zidane walked over to the offending item and eyed it for a second. It could not have been made by any monster, that much was sure. Also, it seemed to be very recent. Within the past week, if Zidane's guess was right.
It was footprint in the dust. After careful observation, Zidane realized it wasn't any footprint made by any member of his team. Glancing at the direction it was facing, Zidane noticed that it was heading towards the lift that led down into the cavern that held the Gulug Stone. Unsheathing the Ultima Weapon, Zidane cautiously approached the lift. Sure enough, another set of footprints was on the pad of the lift.
"Only a Terran can activate these pads," Zidane remembered, recalling memories of the Iifa Tree and the first trip to Oeilvert. "Did Mikoto come here? Or maybe one of the other Genomes? I know it wasn't Kuja; he said he hated this place. Well, only one way to find out."
Springing forward, Zidane landed gracefully on the pad. Instantly, he felt it come to life beneath him and it quickly descended down into the depths of Oeilvert. Then, as quickly as it had started, it just as quickly ended. Zidane stepped off the pad, just to come face to face with the intruder! Yet, the intruder did not frighten Zidane at all. Sitting on the statue that had held the Gulug Stone, the intruder seemed to have been waiting for Zidane.
"What are you doing here?" Zidane inquired, the Ultima Weapon at his side.
"Waiting for you," the intruder replied. But, at the sound of the intruder's voice, Zidane started. It was not the voice he had been expecting. Quickly, the Ultima Weapon came up in a defensive position.
"Who are you?" Zidane hissed. "You aren't who you seem to be."
"Can you not place my voice, simply because my body isn't what you remember?" the intruder sneered at Zidane.
"YOU!" Zidane shouted furiously, the voice suddenly clicking in his mind. "Why are you here!" The Ultima Weapon once more switched position, taking on Zidane's offensive stance.
"Do you honestly think you can hurt me?" the intruder asked, unperturbed by Zidane's hostile manner. "If you do, please feel free to try."
"DIE!" Zidane screamed and leaped at the intruder. Raising his hand, the intruder gestured at Zidane. The effect was astounding. Without any apparent contact, Zidane was simply blown backwards!
"Ugh…" Zidane moaned as he staggered to his feet. "Why are you here?"
"For you," the intruder laughed, standing up and starting towards the injured Zidane. The intruder stretched out a hand, and Zidane could feel the power emanating from the hand. "Haven't you figured that out yet?"
"I will kill you," Zidane hissed. "Before this is all over, I will kill you."
"I doubt it," the intruder replied and touched Zidane's head gently. Then, everything went dark.
As Zidane slowly regained consciousness, he felt a hand upon his head. Instantly, he sprang to his feet and drew his Ultima Weapon. Or…at least, he tried to. The Ultima Weapon was no longer strapped to his back; it was leaning against one of the posts of his cot. Cot?
"Where am I?" Zidane asked, very confused.
A librarian laughed gently and replied, "My boy, you are in Daguerreo. You looked pretty beaten up when your chocobo dragged you in by your tail, so we had a doctor examine you. He said that all you needed was some rest, so we stuck you in one of our cots. You've been out for a couple of hours now. It is now dark outside, so you might just want to stay here for the night."
"Yea, probably," Zidane replied carelessly. Reaching for his bag, he pulled out an Elixir and drank the contents in one swallow. As the medicine flowed into his body, Zidane felt the last of his strength returning. Stretching, he turned towards the librarian.
"So where is my chocobo?" Zidane questioned.
"Well, as soon as we carried you away, he darted off and left," the librarian explained. "He was, by far, the fastest chocobo I have ever seen. We're sorry we couldn't catch him."
"That's alright," Zidane replied with a wave of his hand. "He's probably in Chocobo's Lagoon playing Hot and Cold with that moogle." Catching the look of confusion on the librarian's face, Zidane chuckled slightly and waved the man away. As the librarian wandered away, Zidane threw himself back on the cot and tried to remember his dream. But, try as he might, he couldn't remember much. Trying to recall the dream was like trying to hold water in your hands: it seeped away too quickly. Zidane could only recall the hand upon his head and a whole lot of laughter. He dismissed it with a shrug of his shoulders and closed his eyes.
After all, it was only a dream.