Chapter 12
Zidane's eyes flickered open slowly, the harsh glow of the sun glaring down on him from the heavens. He shielded his eyes and rolled over, letting them adjust for a moment. At last, he sat up.
The storm had cleared last night, and the warmth of summer had quickly replaced it. From the position of the sun (which was just above the Aerbs) it was around ten o'clock.
Mikoto was propped up against a tree nearby, staring out at the sea.
"You overslept," she said.
Zidane stood up and stretched, yawning at the same time. He glanced down at the shore, where the many pieces of ship that once composed the Red Rose were strewn haphazardly about, like some chaotic LEGO set. The crew were pulling what they could out of the ocean, while Beatrix commanded them. Soldiers were aiding in the effort…wait, soldiers?
Zidane scanned the beach and quickly found an Alexandrian ship anchored just off-shore. It was just an ocean-going craft – the Red Rose had been the Alexandrian Navy's only airship.
"When did they get here?" he asked.
"A few hours ago," Mikoto replied. "They came looking for us since we didn't return yesterday."
"I hope Cid can use some of the parts from the Rose…," Zidane muttered.
Mikoto stood up and stared Zidane down – she looked mildly menacing. "Listen, Zidane. I'm going to be with you from here on out. I don't care if you do not want me with you. But I shall require a weapon."
"O-okay…," Zidane replied, attempting to not get eaten.
"So where can I procure an adequate weapon?" asked Mikoto. She eased up a little.
"Um…we could hit Treno. There's always something exotic and powerful in some shop there…Hey, where're Amarant and Freya, anyway?"
Mikoto pointed at the Aerbs. "They climbed the mountains to get help. It ended up arriving regardless. I don't know where they are now."
Zidane grabbed his sister by the arm and pulled her along. "C'mon, let's talk to Beatrix!"
"Your enthusiasm…is disturbing," Mikoto replied.
Beatrix was doing her thing down at the beach, ordering people about and whatnot. Her hands were on her hips and her head was high.
"Come on now, people! Get it together! We can't use any of these parts if they all get claimed by the sea! Work FASTER!"
Zidane tapped her on the back and she jumped.
"WHAAAA-Oh. Good morning, Zidane. As you can see, the salvaging of parts of the Rose is moving along rather…slowly."
"Yeah, yeah. Just help me out here…where are we going next?" Zidane asked.
Beatrix shrugged. "I suppose I had best take that Lindblum ship you borrowed back to Cid. I'll ask him to bring the Hilda Garde VI here so he can pick up these parts. Freya told me this morning before she left that you had better not head off somewhere without her. Amarant seemed to be of the same opinion."
"I guess we're going to Treno," Zidane said.
"Why might that be?" Beatrix asked.
Zidane pointed at Mikoto. "She wants a weapon. I figure Treno'd be a good place to look."
Atlas begrudgingly kicked a rock into a canal down below the slums. That's where they had to stay – down in the canals below the slums, where they could be attacked by bums or something.
Silas changed his mind after they stole the gem – he decided they would stay in Treno longer, as there were a few deals he could make with some seedy characters that Atlas and Arias were, of course, excluded from meeting.
And, of course, Silas cared not that they risked being found out as the thieves who swiped the goods from the Kings' house. No, they would be fine, he said. Just so long as they didn't do anything stupid.
Honestly, Atlas thought it rather stupid to stay in Treno at all. He wasn't so much worried about being found out as he was of being yelled at by Veitt when they returned late.
"This is retarded," Arias muttered, sitting on the cobblestone path beside him, her legs dangling in the canal.
"I know, but what am I gonna do about it?" Atlas replied, kicking another stone into the sparkling stream.
"We could just leave. That'd show 'im," Arias said.
Atlas laughed. That it would. "Nah, we can't do that. But I'm not just gonna stay down here. Let's go shopping or something."
Arias stood up. "Hey genius, we have no money."
"Yeah, but we got loot, don't we?" he said, pointing at her pocket.
Arias reached in and pulled out one of the necklaces she had stolen. "What if they knew that this was from the Kings'?"
"They won't. There's nothing particularly distinguishing about that necklace. And 'sides, anyone we sell it to here in these slums is not going to care."
Arias stared at it for another moment and then nodded.
Atlas marched up the stone stairs nearby and his sister followed. They emerged into a lamp-lit slum full of people. Several little kids chasing one another passed by without a glance in their direction.
Atlas scanned the square, looking for somewhere where they might hock their loot. Across the square sat a run-down little pawn shop, and he started walking.
"Are you sure about this?" Arias asked. "We probably shouldn't be out in the open like this!"
"Quit worryin'. We're powerful warriors, remember? We're levels above anyone who could bother us in this city."
They entered the dark pawnshop and nearly tripped over the stuff littering the floor. Atlas caught his balance and proceeded slowly into the store.
A filthy hippo greeted him from behind the counter. "What kin I do ya for?"
Atlas thought that such a dark store would be a perfect place to do some stealing. But first he'd see how much this dirty hippo would give him for the necklace.
Arias handed him the article in question, which he set down on the counter.
"What'll ya gimme for this?"
The hippo picked it up and inspected it. "Hm…uhuh…I see. 700 gil."
"Bullshit. That's worth twenty thousand at least!" Atlas replied, swiping the necklace from the hippo's fat hands.
"That's my offer, kid. Take it or leave it."
Atlas suddenly realized that this was a rather stupid idea. No pawn shop owner would ever give him a fair deal on something like this.
He turned and walked out of the shop.
"Any more bright ideas, dumbass?" Arias asked as they emerged into the square.
"Uh…if we could go down into the rich part of town and hit a jewelry store, we could get a much better deal on this thing…," replied Atlas.
"Too risky!" said Arias. "No way."
Atlas growled and thought. "Let's do it. Let's go down there and sell this thing!"
"No! What if we get seen?"
"Yeah, what if we get seen?" Atlas responded. "Nobody saw us at the Kings'! Look, we'll go by the canals and come up down there. We'll be fine!"
Arias looked uncertain. "No!" she said at last. "It's too risky!"
"Fine, then stay here," Atlas said, heading down the stone steps to the underbelly of the city.
Arias glanced around and quickly followed her brother down.
She quickly caught up with him. He grinned at her as she reached him.
"What made you change your mind?" he asked, still walking.
"I don't feel safe in this city by myself," she replied.
Atlas laughed. "That's dumb. You're like a super-powered mage! What do you think might happen?"
Arias didn't respond. Atlas didn't press her, but just kept on walking.
At last, he spoke again. "So what do you think Silas will do when he gets back and we're missing?"
Arias shrugged. "Throw a fit, probably. Let's just get this over with quickly so he doesn't worry too much."
Atlas nodded.
They quickly reached the center of the city, where the canals ended and all flowed into the lake. The nobles lived down here, mostly.
Atlas marched down a dark alley behind a row of ritzy shops. The last one was a jewelry store.
The pair slipped in quietly and approached the counter.
"Can I…," the clerk began, looking up from a catalog of items and inspecting his two customers. "…help you?"
Atlas nodded and pulled the necklace out of his pocket. "We would like to sell this."
The clerk snatched it up and pulled out a little magnifying glass. He scrutinized it for a few minutes, and all the while, his face lit up more and more. At last, he set it down on a velvet pad on the table and smiled.
"This is gorgeous. Platinum…and those rubies and diamonds. Why would you wish to part with it?"
Atlas shrugged. "We don't really need it, and we could use the extra cash."
The clerk nodded. "I see…you didn't steal it, did you?"
Atlas pretended to look aghast. "How dare you insinuate such a thing, sir! We would never stoop so low as to become petty crooks!"
"Ever so sorry, please excuse my indiscretion. Your outfits," he said, staring at Atlas, "or lack thereof," he continued, glancing at Arias, "give one the wrong impression."
"Quite alright," Atlas replied.
"At any rate, I will gladly give you forty thousand for this excellent piece. Do we have a deal?" asked the clerk.
Atlas had no idea whether that was more or less than it was really worth, but either way, it was straight profit. He nodded. "Sounds fair. Glad to do business with you."
The clerk counted up the total of gil and put it in a purple velvet bag. "The bag is on the house," he said.
Atlas smiled and took it. "Thanks."
"Oh no, thank you. Have a pleasant evening."
The pair exited the shop without another word and made for the lakefront. They sat down on a bench.
"He cheated us out of a lot of money, you know," Arias said.
Atlas grinned. "I know, but it's pure profit, so I don't really care."
"Well, we've got the cash…let's go shop," Arias said.
"Yeah, maybe you can get some actual clothes."
Arias slugged her brother. "Shut it. My outfit's fine."
Atlas shook his head, grinning. "And you wonder why you get cold…"
Zidane hadn't visited Treno for a number of years now, and he was rather glad that he now had the opportunity. There was really nothing he could do about the Mist man or the genomes for now…at least until something came up. Zidane figured he would just wait until Cid finished their new flagship and then go do some searching around.
Speaking of which, Beatrix had probably reached Lindblum by now. Garnet was going with her for whatever reason. All she had told him before leaving was that she needed a vacation herself.
Zidane chuckled as he absent-mindedly inspected an ornate dagger from Conde Petie. Freya and Amarant were off somewhere in the large shop. Mikoto was just up the aisle, eyeing a bulky suit of armor. Zidane hoped she wasn't thinking about buying it.
He still did not like the idea of having his sister along with him where she might get hurt or worse, but he had decided that he would respect her wishes. After all, she was sixteen now. And it was only practical that she be equipped with a weapon, right?
He set the dagger down and approached Mikoto, who looked rather serious scrutinizing the suit of armor. He grinned as the name "Mikoto, Professional Armor Collector" entered his mind.
"Find anything you like?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I certainly dislike this clunky suit. Such armor would offer limited agility."
Zidane grinned. He was relieved; for a moment, he felt as though her were faced with the prospect of fighting beside Steiner, Female Edition.
"Well you don't really need armor, you know," Zidane replied. "Besides, aren't you here to look for a weapon?"
Mikoto nodded. "I briefly looked through the selection of greatswords over there…" She pointed to a rack of massive blades, and Zidane smiled as he pictured her falling over when she picked one up.
"Oh yeah, like you could pick one up," Zidane replied, laughing.
Mikoto grinned a surprisingly mischievous grin. "Is that a dare?"
Zidane nodded. "Believe it."
"Okay…," replied Mikoto, turning to face the greatswords. She grabbed one with both hands, lifted it up, and attempted to get into a fighting stance. She almost lost balance, but managed. "See?"
Zidane was honestly surprised. "How can you…?"
Mikoto set the massive blade down. "I am an Angel of Death, after all."
"Yeah, but…c'mon. You're like…a girl. What, is that one fake and made of foam or something?" Zidane asked, laughing.
"Oh, so someone is sexist," she replied. "It's not like it doesn't feel heavy. I don't think it would be very practical, Zidane. I would tire very quickly."
Zidane grinned, looking at a six-foot long, straight sword that was about a foot wide. Some might call it a zanbato. "Y'know, I knew a blond, spiky-haired guy who used a sword like this once. What was that guy's name…? It was like…I can't remember. His eyes glowed. Kinda neat."
"I'm thrilled for you," Mikoto replied. "Maybe I should get a longsword…"
Amarant's heavy footsteps reached Zidane's ear and soon after the redhead turned a corner and approached the pair. "She found anything?"
Zidane shook his head. "Nah. We're going to go look at longswords…"
"They don't have very many. That store across the street does, though. I've been in there once or twice. Pricier, but you've got cash out the ears, eh?" Amarant suggested.
Zidane nodded. "Alright. You guys feel free to wander, okay? If you see Freya, tell her we'll meet up down at the lakefront in an hour."
"Alright," Amarant replied.
Mikoto followed Zidane out of the shop and onto the path.
"Y'know," Zidane said, pausing. He pulled a dagger out from its holster. "You could just use daggers. I could teach you everything about them, too."
Mikoto shook her head. "For one, I have already determined that the knife or dagger is a useless weapon. Also, you already use it. Every hero must specialize in his or her own weapon."
Zidane laughed. "Every 'hero'? Says who?"
Mikoto shrugged. "I thought you knew. It's sort of like an unwritten rule of heroing."
"Heroing? So you're a hero now?" Zidane asked.
Mikoto shook her head, glancing up at the night sky. "No, but I will be. Once I save the world."
"Who says we're gonna have to?" asked Zidane. Mikoto pushed past him.
"Don't kid yourself," she said as she entered the other store.
Zidane smiled. She was a lot different than he had thought.
He entered the shop behind her and found her standing nearby, glancing from sword to sword.
"Well y'know…Steiner uses swords," he argued.
She shook her head. "Yes, but he doesn't use longswords."
"Beatrix does."
"True, but she only uses the one. It's special. It's nothing I could ever have," Mikoto replied.
Zidane laughed. "You're rather opinionated, aren't you?"
"I suppose so." She pulled a red and white longsword similar to the Save the Queen off of the wall. It looked too narrow. She replaced it and grabbed a different one.
The one she pulled down was white and blue. It was wider than the previous one, and had several spikes coming off of it at strategic spots. The handle was guarded by a spiked extension of the main blade. A rope came off of the end of the handle and ended in a silver, blue, and white tassle.
"This is it," she said, swinging it a few times. "This shall be my weapon."
"Why so sure?" asked Zidane. "You really should try out a few others. You might like another better."
Mikoto shook her head. "I won't like any other better. This is the sword for me."
Zidane grinned yet again. "Alright. That all you want to buy?"
His sister nodded.
"Well then let's pay and get out of here. Hungry?"
Mikoto nodded again.
"Good. I am too," Zidane said, placing a very large sum of gil on the counter. The clerk counted it up and they left.
As he stepped through the door, he bumped into someone.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't see…," Zidane began, glancing at the person he had bumped into. His hair was silver, a glaive was hung from a strap on his back, and a tail waved back and forth behind him.
He immediately turned and ran, and a girl flashed past the door as she ran after him, her tail waving just the same.
Zidane ran out of the door. "Hey! Stop!"
Mikoto appeared beside him. She glanced at him and nodded. They both started chasing after the pair of genomes.
"I wonder where the black-haired one is…," Zidane mentioned, pulling an Orichalcon from its holster.
Mikoto held her sword balanced over her shoulder. "I bet he's around."
The sibling pair of genomes dodged into an alley, and Zidane and his sister followed. Stairs lead down to the canals in the underworld of Treno, and they were slick with water. He nearly tripped.
The pair stopped briefly at a fork in the path and glanced down each to find the fleeing pair. They could barely make them out in the dark and quickly raced on.
"Hey! You two! Stop!" Zidane shouted, pushing himself to run faster. Mikoto easily kept up.
The girl slipped and fell, and the boy knelt down to help her up. They quickly got moving again, but the brief pause had allowed Zidane and Mikoto to get closer.
All four ducked under low pipes as the chase continued. The two siblings turned left onto a path that went round a small holding reservoir, into which a sluice poured from above. Excess water from aqueducts surrounding the city poured down through this sluiceway and into this holding reservoir, from where it flowed out through another sluice into the lake, and then back into the canals, repeating the process.
Above and to their left, the eastern wall of the city prevented escape. And at the end, water.
The pair of sibling genomes skidded to a halt at the end of the path, and Zidane and Mikoto were quickly upon them.
"Talk! What are you two doing here?! Where's the black-haired guy?!" Zidane asked, both daggers drawn. Mikoto was grinning.
The boy glared. "None of your damn business! We…we don't even know who you guys are, do we, Arias?"
The girl, Arias, slugged her brother in the chest. "Dumbass, now they know my name!"
"So if you don't know who we are, then why did you run when you bumped into me, huh?!" Zidane insinuated, cornering the two tightly.
The boy faltered. He didn't know how to respond. "I…uh…Okay, so we do know who you are! But that doesn't mean you're getting anything out of us!"
Mikoto groaned. "We're not dealing with this crap." She quickly kicked the boy in the chest and he fell into the reservoir. "Maybe your sister will tell us what we want to know."
Arias glanced back at the water. "Atlas! You moron! You should have picked a different path!"
Atlas sputtered from the reservoir, floundering to stay afloat. Little did he know that the reservoir was only four feet deep.
Zidane quickly inspected the girl, Arias. She wasn't wearing much, which didn't surprise him, given the outfits that some of the genomes wore. She had a vaguely White Mage-like robe on that was really more like a cape with sleeves. A white staff hung from a strap on her back. Her eyes were deep blue, like his and Mikoto's.
"So tell me," he said, pushing her further towards the edge. "What are you to doing here?"
"I…we…back off!" she shouted, throwing her hands out towards both Zidane and Mikoto. There was a flash of light and they were thrown back about five feet.
Mikoto stood up quickly. "That's it…," she muttered, lifting her new sword up for a slash. Arias flinched a little as they blade came down, but it clanged loudly against another sword as a black-haired figure dropped down from the sluice above.
He pushed Mikoto back and grabbed Arias, pulling her into the reservoir. Atlas was still sputtering pathetically behind them.
Zidane caught Mikoto and she quickly balanced herself. The black-haired genome grabbed Atlas and moved further out into the reservoir. Mikoto was about to leap in after them, but he tossed up a round object which quickly exploded and thick smoke shrouded the area.
After a minute, it cleared, and the three genomes were gone. Mikoto growled.
"I would have cut her clean in half had he not stopped my sword," she muttered.
Zidane patted his sister on the back. "Sure that would have been a good idea?"
"…Yes. They are dangerous, especially her."
"Why especially her?" asked Zidane.
Mikoto stared down at the reflection of the twin moons in the water. "I could feel it. She is…special."
"She was good-looking too," Zidane replied.
Mikoto glanced at him. "You're probably related, you know."
Zidane laughed. "Thanks for making me sound like a total sicko, sis."