Chapter 5
South Gate was a marvel of Lindblum engineering prowess. Carved out of the thick Aerbs Mountains, Lindblum engineers had worked for twenty years to build a giant stone structure large enough to let thirty airships side by side through at a time, not to mention allow them to dock within and get a break from flying.
It had taken a lot of time for the gate to be repaired following the third Black Waltz's destructive run aboard his small airship. Such a little airship wouldn't usually cause much damage, except that in this situation, he had crashed right into a vital gear that helped open and close the Lindblum-side gate. When this gear collapsed, all of the other gears on the left side of that gate collapsed, leaving one entire half of the gate not only inoperable but also lopsided.
After around six months of intensive repair, the gate was declared to be finished. Traffic had been allowed through the operable side of the gate since about four months after the accident, though.
It wasn't quite over. The gear that had replaced the warped one that the Black Waltz had crashed into was itself faulty. It soon cracked under pressure, but held. The left side of the gate was once more inoperable, but not lopsided. The gear was replaced yet again, and, thus far, all was well.
So as Zidane, aboard the Prima Vista II, itself a marvel of Lindblum engineering, entered the massive gate building, he couldn't help but feel partially responsible for the original destruction. He knew full well that the ends had justified the means, but he still felt a little guilty.
"We'll be dockin' here for around an hour," came Cinna's voice over the intercom. "Feel free to go into the gate, but be back in an hour."
The heavy footfalls of Baku's boots hitting wood reached Zidane's ears and he turned to see the boss stomping down the stairs onto the deck. "Gwahahaha! Cinna sure loves to pretend he's importan', eh?"
Zidane grinned. "What are we stopping for, boss?"
"Absolutely none of yer business, your royal majesty, lest ye be caught up in a tale of villainy and debauchery."
"Oh, just tell me. If you're gonna steal something, I'll just find out about it anyway."
As the Prima Vista gently bumped against the scaffolding that was the dock, Baku prepared to disembark. "Alright. I guess you wouldn't be here if you weren't prepared to steal somethin', eh?"
"Sure," Zidane replied, following his Boss to the edge of the deck.
Baku cleared his throat and stepped down onto the concrete walkway that extended out to the ship. "I'm meetin' an old associate of mine here. He just flew in from the Outer Continent yesterday and told me to meet him at South Gate… He's got a potentially lucrative proposition for me, or so he said. He likes to sound smart, but he's actually dumber than a stone."
Zidane followed him off of the ship, with both hands behind his head, stretching. "Might this associate be a dirty little Burmecian rat by the name of…um…Tirkto?"
Baku laughed. "I s'pose he might be the one, yeah."
"Boss…he stabbed you with his lance and then ran off into the forest. Remember? The Popos Heights heist six years ago?"
Baku waved his arm back at Zidane, as if waving away the rebuttal. "Water under the bridge. 'Sides…if he tries somethin' funny…we c'n just kill 'im."
Zidane grinned a little as he and Baku passed under the overhead lights of South Gate. They were lit by electricity, which was something relatively new to the world. It had been used for a while now, but it was just spreading past the walls of the city of Lindblum. This particular building had all of its electricity generated by several massive steam engines at the bottom of the trench behind him. He had seen them as the ship passed overhead.
Baku turned a corner into a dark little room to the right. Zidane followed cautiously.
"Ah, so Baku's here, eh?" came a seedy little voice that one might associate with sleaze and the depths of things that sleaze brought.
"Gwahaha! Tell me, Tirkto…Why should I even bother to stop by here after you stabbed me?"
Zidane's eyes slowly adjusted to the light and he could see Tirkto leaning against the wall. He looked a little roughed up – a fresh cut was just healing on the left side of his face.
"Hey, there…That's all behind us! That time, we were enemies. This time…we're partners."
Baku simply hollered out one of his trademark laughs in response. Zidane moved a little farther into the room, trying to allow as much light in as was possible.
"Say Tirkto…you look a little roughed up. What happened with, uh…," he said, running his finger along where the slash would be located, were it on his face.
"Huh? Oh…" the rat replied, gingerly touching the cut. "Had a run-in with a bounty hunter on the Outer Continent."
Zidane grinned. "Big guy? Red hair? Kinda odd?"
"Yeah, that's the one! He saved my ass! Let me go for half of what the client offered him!" responded Tirkto.
Zidane laughed out loud. "Trust me, Amarant would never save anyone's ass for half of what the client offered him. Sounds to me like you got tricked!"
The Burmecian turned a little pale, and then shook his head. "No matter. I got away from jail, and that's all that matters. 'Sides, I gave that brute a good fight…"
Somehow, Zidane doubted this. He merely nodded and allowed Tirkto to continue.
"Anyway, here's the deal. There's a shipment of gil bein' sent from Lindblum to Burmecia. They're shipping it on a large ship owned by the Lindblum Commerce Guild. There'll be an escort ship. So, you guys do whatever it takes to get the cash, however you wanna do it. Then, you cut me in on, say, ten percent. Deal?"
Shipment of gil? Why did that sound so familiar? No matter. It was probably just going to line some rich old bastard's pockets. Zidane glanced at Baku and winked.
The big guy nodded. "Sure! Ten percent. Sounds fair. Arright, catch you on the flip side, Tirkto, when we're both a lot richer."
The two shook on it, and then, Baku turned to exit. Zidane grinned one last time at Tirkto, and then followed Baku out.
When they reached the ship, Zidane spoke. "So…can we really trust him? Are you sure he's not just setting us up to get busted?"
Baku laughed. "Kid, a rat like him would never set us up. 'Sides…you saw his eyes, right? They only twinkle like that when he's thinking about potential cash. It's the real deal. And I had heard tell of it anyway."
Zidane shrugged. "No matter, cuz we're not cuttin' him in on any of it anyway, are we?"
"Gwahahahahaha! Kid, after stabbing me, any thought he had of getting any of my hard earned treasure was simply stupidity."
Beatrix arrived in Lindblum in the afternoon on an unseasonably cool day. The Red Rose had sputtered a few times on the journey; a new flagship was definitely in order.
Passing the docks in the theater district, she spied the Prima Vista. Tantalus was definitely home. She could even see their hideout, which, given its location, wasn't much of a hideout. In the evening sun it looked rather pretty, like an old-world townhouse. In the middle of the day, though, it had always struck her as rather ugly.
The Red Rose sputtered one last time just before docking inside Lindblum Grand Castle. It dropped about six feet, and, had it been just a few feet lower when the sputter happened, it would have smacked into the scaffolding and probably done itself in.
Beatrix, after easing herself down from that rather large scare, stepped calmly off of the ship and onto the concrete walkway that lead to the castle. She brushed her air from her face and checked to ensure that her sword was positioned nicely – despite knowing Cid quite well, she always felt that she must make a good impression.
Minister Artania greeted her at the end of the walkway. "Ah, Lady Beatrix! We've been expecting you. I hope your journey was agreeable?"
Beatrix smiled, shaking Artania's hand warmly. "Less than I would have liked, but we made it here in one piece."
"Yes, I heard that's what you are here for. Well, anyway, follow me. We'll see the Regent immediately."
Beatrix stopped. "Uh…oh…n-no, don't trouble yourself, Artania. We're going to head into town and rest after that rough voyage…" She said we, as if the king had accompanied her. "In the morning, perhaps?"
"Oh…," Artania replied. "Well certainly, Lady Beatrix. You know, you could always take the guest room."
Beatrix shook her head. "No no, it's quite alright. The king wishes to visit his old friends in the theater district anyway. We'll be fine at an inn."
Artania smiled and nodded. "Very well. We'll see you in the morning…around ten, say?"
"Certainly," Beatrix replied, taking Artania's hand. "'Til then." She released it and watched him go; when he was completely out of sight, she turned and headed down to the air cab station.
Zidane lounged in a hammock hanging from the rafters in the Tantalus hideout. Everything was as he remembered it, and it felt great to be back.
Benero, Zenero, and Genero had been more than shocked to see him. In their habit of often saying something to compliment what the other said, they had greeted him:
"Hey, it's Zidane!" "Yeah, Zidane's here!" "Why are you here, Zidane?" "Did you miss us?" "I know he doesn't miss you!" "He misses me, not you two!" "You know that half of the time he can't tell us apart!" "You can't tell me and Zenero apart half of the time!" "Nobody can tell Benero and me apart half of the time!"
They had continued on like this for some time while Zidane made himself comfortable. Baku vanished into his room and hadn't been seen since. Blank and Marcus pulled up a chair at the table while Cinna poured mugs of beer.
The three at the table talked idly as Zidane began to doze off in the hammock, drunk with nothing but happiness. Just as he approached the line between wake and sleep, Cinna shouted: "Zidane! Hide!"
Deftly, he leapt up into the rafters and ran along one particular beam to a plank where he might watch without being seen.
Possibly the very person he didn't want to see any time soon marched right through the door.
Beatrix glanced around at Marcus, Cinna, and Blank, who were staring right at her slightly slackjawed.
"'samatter guys? You been stunned by a spell or are you just happy to see me?"
After a few moments of silence, Blank laughed an awkward laugh half-way between shock and terror. Marcus quickly smacked him in the chest.
"Okay…," Beatrix replied, stepping further into the hideout. "So…where's Zidane?"
Cinna gulped and Marcus slugged him in the chest.
"What's that? Zidane? He, uh…he ain't here," Marcus replied.
Beatrix sighed. "Really? That's too bad…he's gone missing and we're really worried. Garnet is distraught. Steiner wants to mobilize the troops – he swears that some terrorists kidnapped him. Did I mention that Garnet is distraught? She hasn't stopped crying for…well, since yesterday."
Zidane almost laughed. Beatrix was a pathetic liar.
"You haven't seen him around, have you?"
"Uh…not since yesterday morning at Alexandria port."
Beatrix sighed. "Oh well…I guess I'll just return home and try to console the distraught queen…sorry to bother y-okay Zidane come out from the rafters!"
Zidane was a little shocked. He had no idea how she knew. No use dragging it out any longer.
He stood up and marched out along the beam. Finally, he dropped off of the edge and let his tail grab the rafter. He lowered himself down onto the raised platform that housed Cinna's bunk. Then he leapt off.
Beatrix immediately laid into him. "Do you have any idea how immature and stupid it was to do something like this?!? Run off without telling anyone! You've got some nerve to just leave your wife behind like that! You sicken me! Completely sicken me!"
Zidane growled. "You just don't understand! I'm dangerous! I have the potential to hurt you, Steiner, Garnet…everyone! Entire cities!"
Beatrix immediately softened. She was going to drop the whole "Fooled you! I'm not mad!" thing on him, but this was new. "What…are you talking about?"
Zidane sighed and sat down at the table. He gestured for Beatrix to do the same. Cinna, Marcus, and Blank looked terrified at Beatrix's outburst.
Beatrix spoke first. "Let me just start by saying that I'm not mad…That was going to be a stupid joke…I'm sorry I started off that way…I didn't know you felt the way you do."
Zidane shrugged. "It's alright. I'm just glad you're not angry…Anyway…"
He took a swig of beer. "Lately I've been having these dreams…except they're not just dreams. I think they're visions. Kinda like…of the future, y'know? In them, I cause pain and suffering everywhere I go. Beatrix, I'm scared that I might turn into what Kuja turned into."
Beatrix placed a consoling hand on Zidane's shoulder. "You can't know that. I'm sure they're just dreams."
"But that's not it! I really have been having these weird feelings lately! Like I know what others are thinking about, even when I'm halfway around the world."
Beatrix laughed a little. "I'm sorry, but…you're a good person. You saved the damn world, Zidane! I know you'll never turn out like Kuja. Why you can't see that is beyond me."
"But what if I'm about to change? What if Kuja changed? He changed at the end! But maybe that was just like, changing back?" asked Zidane, shaking slightly.
"Listen. Kuja dumped you on this planet when he was twelve. He was always bad, Zidane. It's not where you were born, or why you were born. It's how you were raised. Baku raised you better than that. And come on. We both know that half of the reason you're hear is sitting right next to us," she said, gesturing to the three staring intently at her across the table.
"Well…yeah! I can't take it! Being at the castle! I love Garnet with all my heart, but I'm just not cut out to be a king, Beatrix!" Zidane replied.
Beatrix shrugged. "I think you'll make a fine king, Zidane. You're caring, understanding, and passionate. You know exactly what's right and what's wrong. So don't kid yourself. But…I know that this is all new to you. It's a bit stifling, isn't it? Being thrust into a position of power, where you must make all of the decisions? And I know that these guys are your family, so…stay here. For a while. I know the queen will understand. I don't know why you didn't see that."
As she finished, Baku came trundling out of his room, shaving cream covering his face, a razor in his right hand. "Oh! Hey, it's that lady knight! That kinda puts a monkey wrench right in your plans, eh Zidane? Gwahahaha! How are you, Beatrix?"
"I'm fine, Baku. Just setting our wayward royal highness here straight. You?" Beatrix replied, smiling.
The big guy grinned. "Life keeps on goin'. We're doin' pretty good, really. We've been busy with performances, eh boys?"
Blank nodded. "Sure. I like making an honest living. Almost as sweet as making a dishonest one."
Beatrix laughed, and Zidane laughed as well. Beatrix sure had a way of setting him straight.
"Okay," he said at last. "I hadn't planned on staying away long anyway. I just need to do some serious soul-searching…and some serious catching-up with these idiots."
"Alright. Stay as long as you want. I know the queen will be fine. I can see that this is important to you. Say, I'm not just here for you, by the way. I brought the Red Rose in for a few repairs, and I'm going to proposition Cid for a new flagship. I'd be glad if you'd join me tomorrow at ten at the castle – he might be more inclined to say yes right away if you're there. What do you say?" Beatrix said, standing up.
"Sure. Love too. 'Bout time we got a new ship, huh?" Zidane replied, yawning.
"Okay. See you tomorrow morning then…And don't go stealing anything big on this little vacation, okay? You are a king now. I'd hate to have to behead you."
With that, she walked right out of the door.
Baku glanced at Zidane, still holding the razor with his face covered in cream. "So…you still up for our little heist?"
Zidane laughed. "You goddamn better believe it."