Start Date: September 4, 2023
Windwillow
Final Fantasy IX, A Novelization: The Reason and Right To Exist
Chapter Two: Exploring Evil Forest
Scene One
The escape from Alexandria had been... less than perfect. All of Alexandria had been cast into chaos over both the kidnapping of its princess and the massive amount of collateral damage done in the escape attempt. Dozens of houses had been destroyed and a similar amount of civilians dead, and so Queen Brahne had ordered three days of mourning for the nation. More covertly, however, she also initiated her plan to retrieve both her daughter and her pendant: the three Black Waltzes, powerful magical constructs designed to surpass the specifications of any normal Black Mage by far. They'd been given strict orders to bring Garnet back alive, and also orders to eliminate anything else that they encountered, be they human or monster.
Most of the Prima Vista was also decimated. One of its towers had been separated and detached, released on the city of Alexandria; it was this that had caused most of the death and destruction to the city. That which remained was hollowed by the vicious impact on the ground, and several fires had been set all about the airship that needed tending to. On the bridge, Baku had nearly been a casualty himself, but luckily he'd held on to the wheel and survived. As Cinna tended to his wounds, Baku propped himself up against the wheel and brushed the sweat from his brow.
"Looks like things will be getting interesting, eh?" Baku chortled.
"Interesting?! They say no one's ever survived this forest and lived, and you say it's interesting?!" Cinna snarled.
"Yeah, basically! Ha ha ha!" laughed Baku. Cinna promptly ceased his first aid and whacked his boss over the head, but Baku seemed to take it in stride and surveyed the damage to the bridge with an even keel. Much of it had been destroyed outright, with the wheel and navigational equipment being casualties as well. Even the intercom had been blown up in the escape, so no orders could be issued. Baku lifted himself from where he was leaning and patted Cinna on the head. "Gather as many people as you can and do a head count," Baku said curtly. The safety of his men was the top priority.
"Bad news, Boss! There are fires everywhere!" Blank said as he rushed onto the bridge, bleeding from a head wound.
"Is my Princess Garnet doll burning?!" choked Cinna. Baku promptly whacked him hard over the head, dropping him face first to the floor. He skittered to his feet and grabbed his hammer, stuck out his tongue, and flipped off Baku. "Oh, stuff it! Stop hitting me!" he growled.
"Before we do a head count, rescue as many people from the fires and put 'em out!" ordered Baku. With a groan he put a hand to his face and muttered a few foul words. "The King's favor cost me an arm and a leg... and he owes me a new airship, to boot..." he muttered.
Parallel Perspective: The Princess, the Knight, and the Black Mage
Once they'd come to, Garnet, Steiner, and Vivi found themselves in an isolated area of the forest, separated together from the others. Vivi jolted and screamed as he gripped his left leg, which had been affected by a nasty gash from the ankle to the knee. He suddenly felt a cooling sensation on his flesh, however, and watched as Garnet pulsed her white magic through the injury. The spell knitted his bones and restitched his torn muscles, also relieving the pain Vivi felt as well. Steiner, who had a similar head wound, requested aid and received it from his princess.
"Ooh, boy... I don't see any sunlight..." Vivi moaned. Everything around him was cold and dank, with only a few rays of light piercing the canopy that allowed them to see.
"We won't see any for weeks, likely. This is below the Mist, so... this is trouble..." Steiner said darkly.
"What's... Mist?" asked Vivi.
"The physical manifestation of evil and suffering, misery condensed into a thick, gaseous mist, hence the name," said Steiner. He groaned and leaned against a tree, trying to catch his breath. "Mist is what breeds monsters and corrupts the souls of men. Any place with Mist is a place that no one wants to be..." he muttered.
"Don't worry, it'll be alright!" Garnet reassured Vivi, who had quickly begun to tremble with fear. She brushed the sweat from the black mage's brow and smiled down at him warmly. "We'll get through this together!" she chirped.
"Uh... I'm more afraid of the huge monster that's coming towards us..." stammered Vivi.
The creature that emerged from the canopy above was a monstrous plant, with two thick tendrils and six strips of mottled flesh that formed the shape of a light bulb on top of its head. Both Garnet and Steiner scrambled to their feet and turned to run, with Vivi in close pursuit. As the monster approached, however, Vivi stumbled and fell flat on his face, and Garnet rushed to tend to him as he lay prone on the forest floor.
"Princess, don't! The monster is targeting you!" Steiner roared.
Scene One
The Tantalus Troupe was more than a handful of bandits. They boasted a full orchestra of performers, all skilled and peerless in the use of their instruments. They hadn't weathered the crash well, and most had to be pulled out of the wreckage by Cinna and the Nero Brothers. While the brothers and Cinna gathered the musicians together in a pile outside of the ship, Zidane slowly approached the Prima Vista. He was in sorry shape, his left arm having been broken and he had several cuts, bruises, and other injuries. As he staggered towards Cinna there seemed to be little hope for salvation, no doctors or white mages in sight.
"God damn it..." Zidane heaved. He lifted his good arm to hold onto a tree in order to right himself and found, to his pleasure, that there was a moogle high up in the tree. Zidane weakly rustled through his vest and withdrew a small, pyramidal object, then held it up to the moogle with a smile. "Can I skip the night and just get the job done?" he asked cheekily. The moogle nodded and snatched up the tool, and with a single flourish it produced - like Kupo's book - a large tent that it slammed on the ground. Zidane staggered inside the Tent and fell to his back, exhausted. By the time he emerged a few minutes later, his wounds had been healed and he gleefully stretched his newly healed arm, shot the moogle a grin, and approached Cinna.
"Do you need to ask?" Cinna asked brusquely.
"Ugh... She's gone, isn't she?" croaked Zidane. He put a hand to his face and choked out a foul word, then leaned up against the tree where the moogle had healed him. As his thoughts, jumbled as they were, reconstructed themselves he felt an uncontrollable urge to save the princess. Not only was she in danger, but he hadn't 'kidnapped her properly' like she had asked him to. Zidane lifted himself to his feet but Cinna grabbed his arm and yanked him backwards. "What's your problem?!" he snarled. Cinna wordlessly handed the thief three potions, which he quickly stored inside his vest, and Zidane dusted off his pants. Before he turned to leave, he gave Cinna the Tantalus salute and flashed him a smile. "You guys search the ship, I'll look outside it. Understood?" Zidane said softly.
Cinna nodded and Zidane hurried on through a large tree stump, where he emerged in a dirty riverbed. Frogs abounded and the Mist was heavy, but as he moved forward calling for the princess, he was already under surveillance by two dagger wielding thugs. They waited for him on either side of a small hill, and when he reached them the two Goblins jumped out from the brush and attempted to blitz him. In this they failed miserably, as Zidane had already sensed their presences.
Notable rogues and bandits, Goblins were diminutive humanoids half the size of a normal person, dressed in rags and carrying a long dagger. As the two Goblins leapt out at him Zidane deftly drew both daggers and used them to parry the monsters' attacks, clashing dagger to dagger with the Goblins and forcing them backwards. He delivered a hard roundhouse kick that sent one crashing to the ground, and when the second lunged he used his tail to trip it up, grabbed its head, and smashed its skull into his knee, immediately killing it. When Zidane brandished his daggers at it the first Goblin turned tail and ran, so he sheathed his daggers and continued on with his search.
When he heard a woman's scream Zidane immediately drew his daggers again and sped forward towards the source of the noise. He dashed through the riverbed with amazing agility, finally stopping once he'd found her. She was encased, however, inside the body of a bizarre monster. The Prison Cage, which is the monster that had attacked the trio earlier, had two thick tendrils and six strips of mottled flesh that formed the shape of a light bulb on top of its head, with a captive Garnet in between its fleshy cage. Zidane immediately noted that Steiner and Vivi were present, though Vivi quickly dropped to his seat and skittered away from the beast.
Steiner, however, brandished his broadsword and stood across from the Prison Cage in preparation to strike. The Prison Cage, however, was too nimble for him to hit and he hadn't landed a single strike. Though he chalked it up to his own wounds and diminished stamina, it was still wholly unacceptable for a knight of Alexandria to leave his princess in the arms of a strange, vile monster.
"If I weren't wounded, that thing would be dead..." hissed Steiner.
"And how would you hit it without hitting the princess, too, idiot?" Zidane chuckled. Much to Steiner's displeasure (and shock), the thief stepped up next to him and lifted both his daggers, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
"You can't hit it either, you little twerp!" Steiner growled.
To Steiner's surprise, however, Zidane said nothing but instead simply shook his head and smiled. He shut his eyes tight and took in a deep breath, gathering his emotions together with solid concentration skills. As he did Zidane's body began to glow, brighter and brighter, before the light suddenly pierced Steiner's sight and blinded him. When the light faded Zidane's appearance was distinctly unique from his normal dress. Rather than wear a vest and pants, his extremities were coated in thick, light-pink fur that served as his new attire. Even his daggers had changed: they now had a dark purple sheen to their blades, and a strange aura surrounded his entire body.
"I can hit it when I do this," said Zidane softly. He flipped up the dagger in his right hand and changed it from a reverse grip to a normal one, and the weapon began to shine even brighter than it had before. Zidane drew back his arm and lashed it out, sending a sharp blade of energy at the Prison Cage that struck it, sent it reeling, and left a large gash on its face, just below Garnet - safely below her body. "All you gotta do is change from a physical attack to something that strikes with enough care to avoid hitting her," he said smilingly as he returned his dagger to its original reverse grip.
"Trance?!" choked Steiner.
"Dunno what the name is, but when I do it I can pull off some nifty stuff!" Zidane chuckled.
"Fool! Trance comes from a surge of emotion! There's no way you can enter it when you're calm!" Steiner growled.
"Hey, I'm burning red hot and ready to protect her, right? Problem solved," said Zidane flatly. Although Steiner continued to fume, the Prison Cage lashed out with one of its stems and attempted to strike Zidane. Instead he swung in a wide arc, severed the stem, and attempted to grab hold of Garnet. Instead the monster deftly dodged, flipped backwards, and escaped into the canopy. Zidane muttered a few nasty words, sheathed his daggers, and the light around him receded to reveal his normal attire again. "The hell? If this thing's triggered by emotion, why the heck did I lose it?!" snarled Zidane.
"Trance is temporary, you little nincompoop!" scolded Steiner.
"Then tell me how to get it back, you jackass!" Zidane shouted as he smacked Steiner in the face.
"Hell if I know, you imbecile!" Steiner retorted. Before Zidane and Steiner could come to blows they heard a shrill cry from behind them. They whirled around to find a second Prison Cage, a new arrival that had snatched Vivi up and imprisoned him in much the same way as Garnet had been. Now incarcerated, the black mage continued to cry out in terror and attempted to batter at the creature's tendrils in a futile attempt to free himself.
"Can you hit it without hitting that kid?" asked Zidane sharply.
"You already know I can't!" Steiner snarled. "We'd need something other than a physical attack... which neither of us have! Damn my helplessness!" he lamented with a sob.
While the two of them argued, they heard a sudden crack as if a piece of flint had been struck and turned to see the Prison Cage engulfed in flames. The source of the fire, Vivi, clumsily stumbled out of the monster's grip and fell flat on his face once again. Steiner quickly took the black mage in his arms and cradled the child, both amazed and alarmed at the sheer magical power that he'd seen unleashed.
"Is... she gonna be okay...?" Vivi croaked.
"It's probably gonna take it to its master so that it can eat her..." Zidane said darkly. When he saw the sheer horror on both Steiner's face and Vivi's he quickly threw up his hands and shook his head. "Oh, cool it! It's still gonna take some time for that thing to limp back home after I whipped it!" he assured them quickly.
As he attempted to reassure the other two, Zidane caught sight of a strange gas that the Prison Cage had begun to emit, and he swiftly somersaulted backwards just in time to avoid the monster's dying gasp, a massive burst of Mist that engulfed both Steiner and Vivi and dropped them to their faces as the Prison Cage's body dissolved into nothing. Concerned, Zidane hurried over to Vivi and cradled him in his arms, withdrew a potion, and placed it at the black mage's face.
"Save it. Normal potions won't do jack," said Blank. He approached Zidane with his sword extended and shouldered it. "Damage is the least of their worries. Leave 'em untended to and seeds will break up through their chests. Monster seeds, mind you!" he snapped. Blank could see the horror on Zidane's face, but quietly sighed and turned back to leave. "We can carry them back to the Prima Vista for treatment... and there isn't anything you can do to fix it, so don't act like a hero and go after the girl," Blank scolded.
"I'll do what I want!" Zidane snarled.
"Not as long as you're under orders!" Blank snapped, something that shook Zidane out of his trance. Even though Zidane angrily stared him down, Blank silently hoisted Steiner over his shoulder and turned to leave. He motioned towards Vivi, and Zidane spitefully grabbed him in his arms and threw him over his shoulder before the two of them hurried back off to the Prima Vista.
Parallel Perspective: The Black Mage Awakens
It had been a horrific experience. He'd seen the princess be captured and carried away, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. While Vivi cursed his weakness he slowly opened his eyes and found Blank staring back at him with a frown on his face. Vivi jolted and sat up straight in bed, but Blank pushed him back down onto his back.
"Sit still. Be happy I had the antidote," said Blank.
"A-Antidote? Antidote for what?" Vivi stammered.
"The kind that keeps monster seeds from spouting out of your gut," Blank said smilingly. Seeing the clear distress on the black mage's face, he quickly returned his expression to a frown and withdrew a small vial of some sort of liquid. "Drink it, quickly. All of it," he said soothingly. Vivi did so, but when he had nearly finished he tried to spit it out. Blank took no chances and slammed his hands on Vivi's face, forcing the antidote back down his throat.
Parallel Perspective: The Knight Awakens
Worthless, that was what he was. Stricken by his failure to protect his princess Steiner feebly staggered through the halls of the Prima Vista, weakly whispering Garnet's name as he stumbled. The Nero Brothers, however, managed to corner him. They shoved him up the stairs of the airship and threw him inside a storage room before locking it. Steiner cursed his weakness again, groaned, and fell to his knees in grief. When he did his hand brushed against Cinna's doll, he lifted it to his face, and spitefully spat to the side.
"Horrible! The princess deserves better than this vile effigy!" Steiner hacked. Steiner threw the doll aside and stumbled onto a stool, where he weakly withdrew the seed remover that he'd been given by the Nero Brothers. "And they've given me poison, to boot!" he moaned. Lacking any other option, as well as any will to resist, he popped the top of the potion and began to guzzle it. Amazingly enough, he wasn't disgusted by the taste and downed the whole thing in a single go of it.
Parallel Perspective: Boss's Orders
"Give me an answer, you old coot!" snarled Zidane.
"I just said it: It's too dangerous to go outside to look for her. However much you stew, it ain't gonna change the facts: you ain't leaving," Baku said firmly. Zidane angrily grabbed him by the collar, but Baku grabbed his hand, smacked him, and threw him to the floor. "Go cool your head!" he snarled. Seething with anger, Zidane furiously stormed away from Baku and slammed the door on his way out. The more he stared at the door, the clearer it became: he couldn't put it off much longer.
Parallel Perspective: The Girl Who was Left Behind
She'd been thrown off of the ship when it slammed into one of the houses. By the time Ruby woke up in the center of Alexandria, she only vaguely recognized that she'd been left behind. She brushed some blood from her face and dropped to her back with a shrill shriek, cursed a bit, and angrily stared up at the blood red sky.
"They don't pay me enough for this!" she hissed. Slowly she stumbled to her feet and looked around her, finding what appeared to be a town tavern in the distance. Despite herself she couldn't help but smile. "Think they're hirin'...?" Ruby asked wearily.
Parallel Perspective: After "The Talk"
"Totally outrageous! That old piece of crap is really pissing me off right now!" Zidane snarled. His departure from the bridge had been far from amicable. That Baku refused to help save Garnet was infuriating, perhaps not least of all because he'd come to kidnap her in the first place and now refused to find and rescue her. As he descended the stairs from the bridge he found Blank and Marcus talking down below, and he quickly decided to eavesdrop as they discussed both the black mage and the clunky knight.
"Has Rusty calmed down?" asked Blank.
"I heard the fool snoring from outside the door... so, yeah, I'd say so," Marcus grinned.
"Ha! What an idiot!" Blank laughed. As Marcus left the area and he spotted Zidane eavesdropping, Blank turned to his friend with a smile. He was met with a nasty grimace, the weight of the situation pressing down on Zidane like a lead blanket. "Yeah... Figured as much," said Blank softly.
"Why is that old bastard leaving the princess to die?! God!" screeched Zidane, his knuckles tightening and his teeth grinding. "If it were up to me, we'd all be outside turning over every damned stone till we find her! I mean, we came to kidnap her, and now we abandon her? Bull!" he snarled fiercely.
"Like I said, it ain't hard to read you, man," sighed Blank. After a bit of thought he folded his arms and leaned against the railing, his eyes turning towards Vivi's room. Like minds are more prone to act than rational ones. "The black mage probably wants to thank you... I suggest you pay him a visit..." he said quietly.
Scene Two
Slowly opening the door, Zidane quietly sneaked inside Vivi's room and found him sleeping under the covers. He wordlessly approached and stared down at the young black mage, expecting to see tears running down his cheeks. The problem was, he had no cheeks. The more Zidane stared the clearer it became that Vivi simply didn't have a face. While Zidane pondered this Vivi's bold golden eyes suddenly snapped open, shocking him hard enough that he stumbled back and dropped to his seat in shock.
I mean, I have a tail, but... Damn...
"Um... Can you come closer?" Vivi asked timidly. Zidane quickly composed himself and stepped forward towards Vivi, who brushed off the covers and sat up in bed. "That Blank guy said your name is Zidane, right? Thanks, Zidane. I don't know what would have happened if you didn't save me..." he said softly.
"Save you? You saved yourself, man. If you hadn't fried that monster we wouldn't have been able to get you out!" laughed Zidane. When he saw Vivi's obvious discomfort, he shuffled onto the bed and patted the black mage on the head. "You were stronger than it was. All me and Blank did was drag you and Rusty back here for treatment. Gotta say, I wouldn't want to make you angry!" he chuckled.
"That's wrong. I was useless," Vivi lamented. "I was right there... and I didn't save her... all I did was hold you guys back when you stopped to help me... If it weren't for me she'd still be safe, right?" he sighed.
"Pull your head outta your butt, man. If you'd tried to fight the monster all you'd accomplish would be burning her to death. None of us could make a difference, period," Zidane said flatly. "Get some rest, yeah? You can't do jack if you pass out again... Don't worry, everything will be just fine!" he chirped.
"I... um... Sure..." Vivi stammered. He slowly shuffled back under the covers and pulled them up over his head again, and Zidane left him to his own devices. As he left, however, Zidane reflected on his own words and his own weakness... Lying to an innocent little kid certainly left a bad taste in his mouth.
"Just fine? Bull. Back at Alexandria she smacked me 'cause I didn't 'kidnap her properly' and didn't do my job right... so I gotta make it right, right?" Zidane muttered. As he reflected on his words, however, the absurdity became clearer and he suppressed a bitter fit of laughter. "Maybe I do have a lady fetish..." he murmured. He grit his teeth and clenched his knuckles tight, absurdity bowing to outrage. "But there isn't a chance in hell I'm gonna leave her to die!" he hissed.
"Even if it means makin' Dad mad?" Blank asked coolly. Zidane lifted his head to find Blank standing in front of him with a smile on his face. Clearly he'd overheard him, and just as clearly he'd come to the same conclusion that he had. Zidane slowly shut his eyes and assessed his options, opened them, and nodded. "Knew it. Let me guess: You're gonna take those two and try and find her, right? Damned the consequences?" he asked softly. He laughed bitterly and stretched out his hand. "Nice knowing you, but you'd better talk to the Boss first. He ain't gonna take the idea lightly..." Blank grinned.
Scene Three
When Zidane returned to the bridge he found the helm empty. Somehow, Baku had slipped past him and left for parts unknown. Since he was the boss of a band of brigands, if he couldn't do as much they might not even respect his authority. Zidane quickly explored the ship and tried to find his boss, but had no luck until he opened the storage room door and found Baku staring back at him from the back of the room. Zidane couldn't help but smile; he'd guessed what his subordinate would do before he did.
"You wanna leave, right?" Baku asked coldly. Zidane nodded, and the Tantalus boss laughed and lifted his sword from behind his back. Zidane had expected as much. "Stupid bastard. I'm gonna thrash your sorry ass from here to Lindblum. Get outside. Now," he scolded sharply.
Zidane followed Baku out into the storage room, where his boss kicked away the table in the center of the room and turned to him with a grin. Wordlessly he drew his daggers, and Baku lifted his weapon and swung down. Zidane was forced to parry using both his weapons, though Baku forced his way through and bashed him to the ground on his back before kicking him hard into the meeting room with his boot. As the dust settled, Baku confidently shouldered his sword and smirked.
"Had enough?" he asked coolly.
The response he received was the total destruction of the meeting room door, having been completely blasted off its hinges. From inside the room Zidane exited, fully tranced. The furred thief flashed a cocky grin before Baku charged him. Zidane caught the blow with one dagger, sheathed the second, and delivered a powerful gut punch that dropped Baku to his knees. With his boss knelt before him Zidane exited Trance and offered a hand to Baku. It looked like it was over.
"We good?" Zidane asked softly. Baku's response was a vicious strike to Zidane's chest that staggered him. Baku confidently lifted himself to his feet and sheathed his massive sword before flashing a smirk and turning to leave. In the aftermath Zidane desperately clutched his injury with both hands and coughed up phlegm, the blow having knocked something inside loose. "Bastard wasn't even trying..." he choked. At least he had his answer, now, and it gave him enough pleasure to etch a wide smile on his face. "You've always been a good father... so, thanks..." Zidane muttered.
Scene Four
Blank's seed remover had totally obliterated the monster seeds that had been inside Steiner. But it couldn't exorcise the weight of his own failures, his own weakness, in having his princess stolen right out from under his nose. How could he face the queen now? The idea that by now she'd ordered his death escaped him, as most important things did. He sat on the stool he'd been given, staring at Cinna's poorly constructed doll of Garnet, and his heart ached for her safe return. The doll may have mislabeled the princess as being fifteen when she was actually sixteen, but simply holding an effigy of his princess brought a feeble smile to his face.
"Trust me... I'll get you back, Princess..." Steiner sighed.
"Ain't you a bit old to be playing with dolls, Rusty?" Zidane asked confidently as he threw open the storage room door, startling the captain of the Knights of Pluto. Seeing Zidane reignited Steiner's rage, though he was careful to set the doll aside delicately before storming towards Zidane with his hand clutched on the sword behind his back. "Oh, come on. We both want the same thing, so let's be friends!" he chuckled.
"Friends?! And the only reason I was holding that doll was because it made me remember my failure! Which I intend to correct once I behead you!" snarled Steiner.
"Key word being failure," Zidane said coolly. Angered, Steiner took a swing at the thief, but only struck air when Zidane back flipped away from Steiner's blow, landed on one foot, and shook his finger at him as if to say, 'uh-uh.' Zidane dropped to his seat and curled his tail around his waist as he stared up at a furious Steiner. "Next key word? Redemption. We both failed her, so we'll both get her back. You in?" Zidane said with a certain kind of grin.
"We both failed her?! You're the one who up and abducted her!" snapped Steiner.
"Oh, right, I did. My bad. Wanna work together?" chuckled Zidane. Now livid, Steiner took his sword in both hands and swung down at Zidane, but he simply rolled out of the way, leapt to his feet and extended his hand to Steiner. "I'm willing to let bygones be bygones as long as you don't try and chop my head off again."
"I'll make no such promise!" Steiner roared. He lifted his sword again, but this time halted when Zidane bowed his head to him. Stunned, Steiner halted his attack and lowered his weapon. "You scoundrel! What are you-"
"I want to right my mistake, too. Together with you," Zidane said calmly.
"Your only mistake was not kidnapping the princess completely, you fool!" growled Steiner.
"Therein lies the rub. She asked me to kidnap her properly, and I intend to do so. I mean, I'm not the kind of jerk that leaves a lady hanging. But there was another promise: I said I'd do so in relative comfort... and as long as she isn't comfortable, I'm a two-timing liar and a thief. The thief part I'm good with, but I'm no liar. Do you want my help or not? You wanna go out into the great dark beyond by yourself, genius?" said Zidane.
"You... rotten..." choked Steiner indignantly. Much as he hated to admit it, however, Zidane had held his own against the monster that had abducted the princess. There was another factor, however, that had to be secured. "But I'll do so on the condition that Master Vivi comes with us."
"Master? Does the kid even have the balls to fight?" Zidane wondered pointedly.
"Master Vivi is worth a thousand more men than you!" scolded Steiner, shortly before Zidane slugged him in the face. As he nursed his injury, the knight captain slowly assessed his options and came to the conclusion that a thousand men and one skilled thief was better than a thousand uncertain children.
"This isn't his fight. If he agrees, great. But I won't let you force the little dude to clean up our mess. His choice, not ours, got it?" Zidane snapped. Seeing Steiner's simmering rage, Zidane sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. The logic was there, and they probably did need him. He shut his eyes and shook his head, sighed, and put both hands on his hips. "You try and force him, I'll slug you again. We'd better get going."
Scene Five
"Oh, it's you guys! You're gonna go save the princess, right?" Vivi asked as both Steiner and Zidane entered his room. When he saw Zidane's apprehension and Steiner's eagerness, however, he tilted his head and a question mark popped up over his hat. "Why are you looking at me like that?" he wondered.
"Master Vivi! You must come with us!" begged Steiner. Zidane promptly whacked him over the head and left a large red welt on the knight's neck, and Steiner angrily took Zidane by the collar. "You! How dare you touch me!" he snarled.
"I said it's his decision, you numbskull! Not yours!" Zidane snapped. He brushed Steiner's hand away and shoved him back. "I may be a thief, but at least I'm not a thug like you!" he hissed.
"I'm the thug?! Damned rascal!" Steiner snarled.
"You're the one scaring him and trying to make him fight, so yeah, you're a thug!" Zidane shot back.
"Can... Can I even make a difference...?" wondered Vivi. His words silenced the two would-be rescuers when the black mage put his face in his hands and groaned. "You guys really think I can do it? I don't. I can't even fight." Zidane put his hand on his hip and sighed. Black mages were generally masters of mischief and misery, so to find one so lacking in confidence pretty much broke the mold of an almighty arcane sorcerer.
"You killed the damn thing, remember? We couldn't. Swords and sorcery always beats swords with no sorcery. I'm going to skip numb nuts over here begging you... This is your decision, not ours. If you want to fight, we'll be glad to have you," Zidane said calmly. "But if you don't want to, then don't. I'd be a real asshole if I tried to make a kid fight my battles for me. So just ignore Rusty and think about it, and we'll get back to-"
"I... I'll do it. I... if I can do it, I want to," Vivi said slowly as he nodded his head. He'd been useless before when the monster took her. If he could really make the difference now, it'd mean a lot. Even if he wasn't certain if he had it in him, he at least had to try. Garnet had healed his leg just before she was taken, and it would make him feel bad if he didn't try and save her after she did that. Zidane flashed a grin and hurried out of the room, but before he could jump down from the bed Vivi found himself caught by Steiner, who whispered something into his ear. "In... fuse? I don't think I can focus my power on Zidane's daggers..." he muttered.
"I am the one who will save the princess, not that oaf!" Steiner snapped. As he watched Vivi recoil in fear, Steiner sorrowfully set the black mage down and bowed his head to the floor before him. Asking this of the child was difficult to do... but it was better to borrow the mage's powers than rely on the one who had abducted his princess. "I'm sorry, Master Vivi. Please forgive me. I just want to prevent that rogue from succeeding in his wretched plan," said Steiner softly.
"Zidane? I... kind of like him... but okay," stammered Vivi. He'd never thought of using his magic to power someone else's weapon, but it seemed like it would at least be possible if he were doing it to Steiner's massive sword. Besides that, fighting together would be better than fighting alone. Since he wasn't much of a fighter himself, 'Magic Sword' could be just what he needed to make himself useful.
Scene Six
Vivi had agreed to help fight for Garnet's sake. It was a massive coup in the war they were fighting to protect the princess, and every little bit was necessary. Zidane hurriedly gathered together some basic supplies of food, water, and torches, though on the way out of the airship he was greeted by Blank. After sending Steiner and Vivi on their way, he leaned back against the wall next to his friend and stared into his eye. Clearly Blank had something planned, and he couldn't help but wonder if Baku had any idea he was planning it.
"You gonna accept that you've got a fetish for the girl, or are you just planning on acting like a damned fool hero to try and impress her?" Blank asked firmly.
"I made a promise and I have to keep it... Simple as that," affirmed Zidane. Blank scoffed and laid a hand to his face, tried to stifle his laughter, and ultimately failed miserably as he broke out flat out laughing at Zidane. "What's so funny, asshole?!" he snapped. Blank suddenly stopped laughing and lifted a vial of liquid that he tossed into Zidane's hand. When he caught it, at first Zidane thought it was some kind of joke, though Blank's glare made him realize that this was more serious than a joke. "You think I need a love potion, man?" Zidane whispered.
"Pull your head out from between your legs and start acting like an adult. This is the same seed remover that I used on Rusty and the black mage. Either you give this to the princess, or a monster bursts out of her gut. And my guess is that you wouldn't get a second date if that happened, so I suggest you feed it to her as soon as you find her," said Blank. He quietly turned to leave, but saw out of the corner of his eye that a pair of knuckles had been extended to him. With a smile, Blank reached out and bumped Zidane's fist, broke away, and the two grappled hands for one final goodbye.
"Take care of everyone while I'm gone..." Zidane said with a smile.
"Jackass. You never did squat," grinned Blank. He swiftly dodged Zidane's punch, grabbed his arm, and wrenched it behind his back before he pinned the thief to the wall in an unbreakable lock. Although Zidane struggled, he wasn't able to break free from Blank's grip. The two of them had been like brothers for years. No matter how much Zidane acted like he was marching off to Garnet's rescue, Blank knew that he was scared stiff, and it pissed Zidane off that he did.
Outside of the Prima Vista, Steiner and Vivi suited up with their gear and prepared to head out in search of the princess. Zidane saw them speaking to Cinna, and when they turned to leave the portly thief tossed Zidane another potion. When asked if he had any antidotes to give Cinna balked, saying that since Zidane had left the band he'd have to pay for it. Zidane, however, called in on the debt he had on Cinna from their last Blackjack game and he begrudgingly handed him the antidote as well.
The trio set off into the forest with their supplies, prepared to begin their search for Garnet. As they approached the location where they'd fought the Prison Cages, Vivi's resolve began to wither, however. Steiner cheerfully patted the black mage on the back, prompting him to move forward, but when Vivi turned and found himself face to face with an armed Goblin he immediately panicked and blew it up. Staring down at the monster's charred remains he felt like he was about to wretch, though Zidane patted him on the head and gave him a warm, reassuring smile. This time, since they didn't end up fighting a monster within ten seconds of saying it, Zidane's actions really did succeed in calming Vivi down.
As they continued forward the trio encountered no more Goblins, nor other beasts. They did, however, enter an area surrounded by three large pink flowers. Vivi happily reached out to touch one but suddenly jolted when the flower attempted to bite him and became active as a full fledged monster. Somehow it flew. The Dendrobium was a large, pink flower of some sort that had the shape of a blossom and the scent of death.
Zidane and Steiner swiftly drew their weapons and Vivi scampered off to safety. With a single swing Zidane swung a dagger at the Dendrobium and managed to sever one of its stems, though it then blasted him in the face with a fire spell that knocked him back. Steiner swiftly felled the monster he was confronting and turned to deal with Zidane's assailant, then cut through the Dendrobium with a single slice that cut it in half. Unfortunately, there was a third Dendrobium in the pack and it leered over Steiner in preparation to strike him as well. Before it could Vivi's magic blasted it to bits, and then the black mage promptly dropped to his seat, terrified.
"Can you still fight, monkey boy?" Steiner taunted. Zidane replied by nailing him in the crotch with a vicious kick that dropped the knight captain to the floor, desperately gripping his injured... jewels.
Once Steiner had been revived and was once again able to form sentences, the three of them continued on through the forest until they reached a large stump that stood in the middle of the woods. Notable was the spring of clear water that had been collected in the stump, and equally notable was the moogle who was drinking from it. Desperately thirsty, Vivi ignored the fact that he had a bottle of water on his pack and dashed towards the spring. He took a drink, sighed with contentment, and lifted his head to find the moogle staring down at him. So, he screamed and fell backwards.
"Name's Monty, kupo! Any questions for little ol' mogster?" tittered the moogle. Vivi silently shook his head, then the name struck him and he fished through his vest for Kupo's note, then handed it to Monty. Thrilled, Monty snapped open the letter and scanned it over, then his eyebrow lifted. "Huh. Who's the knight riding a white horse, kupo?" he muttered idly.
"Me, obviously!" trilled Zidane. A furious Steiner took a swing at him, missed, and fell flat on his face when the tailed thief rolled out of the way and right on top of the spring. Zidane silently took the healing water and rubbed it on his face. The blessed liquid soothed the pain of his earlier wound and cleared up the burn he'd received from the Dendrobium. After a bit of thought he took a slight drink of the water as well, swelling him with energy that he was certain to need for the battles to come.
"I got a letter from Stiltzkin, kupo! Let's read it together!" Monty said cheerfully. He opened the letter and read it, then handed it to Vivi, who scanned it carefully and then handed it back. "Stiltzkin says he's in a really cold place, kupo... Says it's hard to writing in the freezing cold, 'cause it makes his fingers numb!"
"You mean the Ice Cavern, right?" asked Vivi. Monty nodded and Vivi paused for a moment to think. "Do you know where to find Princess Garnet, Monty?" he wondered quietly. When he saw the moogle's immediate apprehension, however, his face dropped. "What... does that mean? Why are you scared?" Vivi chattered.
"You'll be scared soon, too, kupo..." muttered Monty darkly.
Parallel Perspective: Preparations
"Zidane's going to need backup... and I want you to give him this, too," said Baku firmly as he handed a wrapped up piece of parchment to Blank. He had a feeling that Zidane was about to run into the master of the forest. Once he did, it'd probably wipe the floor with them. Blank was his fail safe in the matter, a final gift to Zidane before he up and left his life for good.
"But will we all make it out in time?" wondered Blank.
"I always take care of my men, you know that," insisted Baku. Before Blank could turn to leave, however, he clapped a hand on his shoulder and turned him around. Blank had a good feeling about how Baku was thinking right about now. "Take care of that dunce when I can't, okay?" he muttered. Blank nodded solemnly and hurried away.
Scene Seven
There was good news and bad news. The good news was that they'd found Garnet, chained up against the far wall and hanging by her arms as if on a cross. The bad news was they'd also found the boss of Evil Forest, which was almost ready to consume Garnet; they'd arrived just in time to prevent her demise. The master of the monstrous flowers had four large tendrils extending from a large, carnivorous blossom. It was dug into the earth, and seemed to sprout from the vines beneath it. In addition, it had several minions. They looked quite alien in nature: two legs, two arms, and a head resembling some sort of sinister flower. However, they didn't last long when Vivi incinerated them with a single, massive burst of flame.
"Be careful not to harm the princess, brigand!" Steiner ordered. Zidane completely ignored him and drew his daggers as the Plant Brain swiveled around to meet the three of them. "I ask that I be given the honor of first blood!" he insisted. Zidane simply shrugged and shouldered one of his daggers. He had his plan, and that suited him just fine.
The Plant Brain drew back one of its tentacles and lashed it out at Steiner, who fiercely clashed with it - and failed to cut through it. It forced its attack through and slammed him hard against the far wall. Zidane took initiative and bounded towards the boss's head, hoping to attack it while Steiner acted as unwitting bait. Unfortunately, the Plant Brain had two tentacles, and it used the second to strike and slam Zidane into the wall on its right side, where he lay prone and vulnerable to the Plant Brain's follow up attack.
That attack never happened. Before the tentacle could finish off Zidane, Vivi blasted it with a huge storm of flame that set the limb aflame and caused the Plant Brain to shriek in agony. Zidane took his opportunity and slashed open a gash in the boss's face, though before he could follow up it shot pollen into his eyes and dropped him to his knees blinded. As Zidane writhed in pain the flaming tentacle lashed out at his vulnerable body, only to be met with Steiner's steel.
"Master Vivi! Now!" called Steiner. While Steiner clashed with the flaming tentacle, Vivi threw out both hands and fire flashed from his fingers onto Steiner's broadsword, and with the magically enhanced blow Steiner was able to completely sever the tentacle at the root.
"Thanks, man!" Zidane shouted, having brushed the pollen from his eyes.
"I only happened to save you, you stupid monkey! Purely incidental!" snapped Steiner.
"Oh, for the love of... I'd look to your left before you start acting like an asshole!" Zidane yelled.
Although Steiner balked, when he turned to find the second tentacle flying towards him he shouted out a nasty word and lashed out at the tentacle, but though the still-charged blade cut slightly into it the tentacle remained strong enough to push through. Before it could, from the opposite end of the tentacle Blank slashed a large gash in it, and then flashed a thumbs-up to Vivi. The black mage nodded and cast a Magic Sword spell on Steiner's broadsword again, this time with the result of a fully charged blade cutting through the second tentacle.
Zidane took his chance and leapt high into the air, spun around, and drove his two daggers through the Plant Brain's head. The monster screeched out in pain, but as it began to wither and die Vivi threw out both hands and burned it to a crisp. Now without anything restraining her Garnet began to fall face first to the vine-covered ground, and though Steiner reached out to catch her Zidane already had caught her, turned her over, and poured the seed remover into her weary lips. She swallowed hard and weakly opened her eyes, met Zidane's, and cracked a smile.
"You're better at rescuing people than you are at kidnapping them..." Garnet said dryly.
"Geez... Can't make you happy, can I?" groaned Zidane. Despite the situation, all he could do was smirk at her audacity. Before the two could converse any further, however, the Plant Brain's remains caved in, creating a hole that dozens of Plant Spiders began to pour out from. Zidane quickly took Garnet in his arms and vaulted over the boss's corpse, landing just next to Blank and the others. "Rusty! Vivi! Back us up!" he called. He exchanged a glance with Blank, similarly matched his grin, and hurried away from the scene carrying the princess in both arms.
Although he was disgruntled, Steiner quickly followed up by slashing a wide swath through the onrushing monsters with his still flaming blade, sending a shock wave of fire that burned several of the Plant Spiders to ash. He and Vivi quickly hurried towards Zidane and Blank. Their road quickly brought them to the mouth of a large waterfall, with the only avenue of escape being jumping from above to below. Zidane and Blank easily made the leap, though Vivi balked. Steiner jumped past him and fell straight down to the ground, creating a large splash when he landed.
"Master Vivi! Jump down on me!" Steiner shouted.
Vivi swallowed hard but vaulted from the top of the waterfall, landing squarely on Steiner's back safely. Because he was armored he felt nothing, and the pair dashed away from the scene with a Plant Spider in hot pursuit. Blank swiftly cut it in half and disposed of the little sucker before he charged past Steiner and Vivi to meet up with Zidane and Garnet. Steiner quickly caught up and Zidane threw the princess into his arms, pushed him ahead, and used both daggers to decapitate an oncoming Plant Spider before he turned and ran again.
"The whole damned forest is angry!" Zidane screamed at the top of his lungs. He turned his attention to Blank and smiled, then pushed him ahead of himself. At least one of them would have to make sure the others survived. Blank was far from pleased with Zidane's self-sacrificing attitude, and spewed out a few nasty words at the monkey-tailed thief to get his point across.
"I'm not here to clean up your messes, you jackass!" Blank shouted bitterly.
As the Plant Spiders continued to catch up Vivi turned back to find that just behind the monsters the forest itself had begun to turn to stone, prompting him to run even faster than he thought he could. Zidane and Blank rushed forward to catch up, though one of the Plant Spiders loomed right above Zidane and reached out to grab him before Blank elbowed him aside and got caught instead. Zidane was utterly horrified and tried to reach out to his friend, though when Blank produced Baku's map he angrily grit his teeth and rushed ahead towards the others.
Blank used the last of his strength to hurl the map at the ground ahead, and Zidane caught it in midair as he continued to escape the forest as it petrified itself. He ran with everything he had in him, darting and weaving through the attacking thorns, and finally rolled to safety just as the thorns broke through the forest and tied themselves together, binding the forest shut as it petrified. Zidane staggered to his feet, clasping Baku's map, and hurried towards what remained of Evil Forest. Since all that remained was stone, he grit his teeth and slammed his fist into the wall of thorns, succeeding only in bruising his wrist and dropping him to his seat. He slowly lifted himself to his feet and stared at the aftermath, turned his eyes back to the others, and back to the forest before he clasped his hands together in the Tantalus salute.
"Thanks, asshole. Great way to sacrifice yourself, you fool. It should've been me. I... I promise we'll find a way to get you out... okay? I... I owe you big time, Blank... But if you don't make it out alive I'm going to break inside, find you, and kick you in the teeth!" shouted Zidane. As tears formed in his eyes, he quietly lifted Baku's map to his heart and choked out a nasty word. After all the things they'd gone through, this really took the cake. All he could do was hope and pray that the others made it out... and that they knew a way to save his stupid friend.
Author's Notes
I don't think I have it in me to keep up with Mognet, so sue me. Keeping in mind that the party gets multiple letters at any given time and darting back and forth to every moogle acting as a mailman... Nope, can't do it. Considering I'm already incorporating that God damned card game - if it wasn't in the plot I'd have left it on the cutting room floor - I'm going to skip the hernia and just go from here as normal.
Tents. Hell if I know what I'm doing... End of comments. I got no ideas left.
So, two chapters in and I'm already preparing myself for OOC comments. Maybe it's a record for me, or I just haven't kept track of the five or six stories I've written so far. I'm really liking my versions of Zidane and Garnet, so expect a few witty comments from both most likely. That being said all of this is totally improvised, so who knows?
