Start Date: May 14, 2024
Windwillow
The bold text is a flashback
Final Fantasy IX: The Reason and Right to Exist
Part Three: Bridging Two Worlds
START!
Chapter Ten: The Battle of Alexandria
Brahne's final gamble at the Iifa Tree had left a trail of destruction in its wake. In her final, foolish attempt to conquer both the known and the unknown world nearly the entire Alexandrian navy had been wiped out by either Kuja's beasts or the Eidolon Bahamut. Almost a third of the entire Alexandrian military had been present at the battle, losses that were crippling to the kingdom's national defenses. On top of that, they'd lost the last of their black mages.
The new Queen, Garnet, declared three days of mourning on the day that she tentatively assumed the throne of the kingdom of Alexandria. The rest of her friends, having returned from the Outer Continent on Brahne's Blue Narciss, had each gone their separate ways and spread out across the Mist Continent. Several weeks later the continent continued to rebuild as best it could, with a new peace treaty signed between Alexandria and Lindblum. Burmecia, however, had been so devastated that at least a quarter of its citizens had been lost, with the rest scattered throughout the known world in exile.
The former queen was interred in a tomb northeast of the castle, given full burial rites and remembered in a solemn ceremony attended by those closest to her. Despite her despicable conduct even the leader of Lindblum attended the funeral, though that was more out of respect for the former king than the former queen. All the nation turned out in mourning to watch the body be transported through Alexandria's streets for the final time and the local flower peddlers had offered up a bough of red roses to lay on Brahne's headstone.
Quite some time after the incident occurred, Dagger visited Brahne's grave with her retainers and Doctor Tot, and she gingerly laid down the wreath of Brahne's favorite red roses on the headstone of the former queen before quietly stepping back and remembering her mother. "Steiner... Beatrix... Thank you for all you've done for me," Dagger murmured. "Because of me you suffered so much..."
"And we would do it all over again in a heartbeat, Your Majesty," Beatrix said with a solemn salute. Her injuries from the escape attempt had been great, adding a scar or two to her impressive repertoire of wounds received in battle, but she regretted none of it. "The battle may have been intense, but it was a fight that I picked myself. Do not worry yourself of my well being."
Dagger chuckled dryly and wiped the sweat from her brow. As if it were that simple. They'd suffered and bled for her. For her own greedy desire to fly the coop the continent had suffered greatly, and even now with the canary back in her cage the anarchy could not be forgiven. "Please... in the months and years to come... Please be with me," Dagger begged, more firmly than her previous words. "I'll do Mother proud."
"Even with her... unusual behavior prior to her death, Queen Brahne was well loved and well respected by her people," Doctor Tot said adamantly. "Her valiant spirit, the love she felt for her country, will never be forgotten."
Gritting her teeth, Dagger tightly clenched her fingers into a fist. "And neither will her greedy hatred ever be forgiven by those she's wronged..." Dagger growled. With a sigh the princess murmured a prayer and walked down the steps of her mother's grave, staring out into the pure beauty of the sea that lay before her eyes. Her sea. "Will the others be able to attend the coronation...?" she murmured. Steiner sadly shook his head, leaving Dagger to sigh and softly massage her pendant. "Zidane... Please, forgive me for all the wrong I've done to you..." whispered Dagger.
Scene One
Having been allowed inside Alexandria Castle, Eiko quietly strode through its halls with a host of thoughts weighing her down. "With Dagger gone I can snag Zidane myself... but I need something else - a love letter!" swooned Eiko. As she noticed Doctor Tot quietly descend the staircase from Dagger's room the summoner eagerly dashed up to the scholar, tightened her fists, and gave him the best puppy dog eyes she could muster. "Hey, nerdy guy!" she chirped. "Write me a love letter!"
Unable to hide his amusement, Doctor Tot put a hand to his chin and wiped the grin off of it. She certainly was... direct. What caught his attention most, however, was the small horn that jutted from Eiko's forehead, an item of interest that widened his eyes and hastened his heartbeat. "And where are you from, Miss..." Doctor Tot murmured.
"Eiko Carol of Madain Sari!" chirped Eiko, her eyes wide and her fists tightened.
"That is..." gasped the scholar. He quietly wiped the sweat from his brow and put a hand to his face. "That is... very interesting, Miss Eiko..." he murmured softly. "Very interesting indeed, that you have the horn you wear on your head..."
It had been over a decade that had passed since the incident occurred, but in Doctor Tot's mind's eye it was as clear a remembrance as any that he'd had the day before. A ship had drifted into the nation's harbor, bearing a long-dead woman who clutched her crying child tight in her embrace. Dressed as a white mage, the woman bore several horrific burn marks but her child was totally unscathed. She'd fought the storms and died in them, never once releasing the girl from her hands even as the waves crashed and the lightning thundered.
"A mother's love is beyond comprehension..." whispered King Alexander. When he noticed a strange familiarity with the crying child he softly lifted her hood and found that she was a brilliantly beautiful young child, a child with a horn on her forehead, and he recognized her straightaway. "She looks like Garnet...!" he gasped. "A perfect resemblance...!"
"I can see my dead daughter in her face," Brahne said softly, "but the horn on her head proves that she is the child of another woman."
King Alexander shut his eyes tight in meditation before opening them with the faintest trace of tears dripping down his face. "Remove the horn immediately," he said coldly. "We must find a way to do so without killing the girl."
"Do you honestly intend to do what I think you're doing, Your Majesty?!" choked an appalled Doctor Tot. "Pass the girl off as Garnet?! I know that the kingdom needs an heir, but... removing that girl's horn will cause her unbearable pain..." he whispered. "You would inflict that on an innocent young girl?"
"A moment's pain," King Alexander said coolly, "will lead to a lifetime's bounty as royalty."
After he'd reminisced Doctor Tot had agreed to write the letter and adjourned with Eiko to a nearby room, where they together constructed an elegant and heartbreaking string of words that seemed sure to win the heart of whomever read them. Eiko wildly cackled as she sealed the letter in its envelope, a wicked grin on her face as she contemplated her future with Zidane.
"As soon as Zidane reads this, he'll fall madly in love with me! I'm going to one-up Dagger and steal my man for little ol' Eiko! Ah-Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha- ha!" Eiko cackled. "How do you like that, huh?!"
"This Zidane... Is it the same Zidane who protected Princess Garnet?" Doctor Tot asked breathlessly.
"Yup! He had all sorts of adventures with Dagger! We all met together at Madain Sari when Dagger first heard about summoners!" tittered Eiko, a wild expression on her face mixing joy and a deranged sense of hope. "You're mine, Zidane!"
As Eiko bolted from the room an astonished Doctor Tot weakly adjusted his glasses and his heartbeat began to accelerate. "The connection is clear... the horn on the princess's head... I had no idea..." he choked. He suddenly heard the girl let out a loud shriek and hurried from the chamber to find her caught by her wings on a nearby railing. Although Doctor Tot at first thought to intervene when he watched the girl toss his letter to a tapir-like man dressed in brigand's clothes he presumed that she would find a way on her own and returned to his duties.
We must meet again, Miss Eiko... I pray you can someday answer the questions that now fester inside my brain...
Scene Two
He'd been an uninvited guest to the castle. After snatching up Eiko's letter and stashing it in his pocket Baku casually strolled away from the castle and watched as Steiner and two of his knights waddled onto the boat launch that held the ship leading back to the city. Baku watched in amusement as the trio mumbled and fumbled in their duties, though when he approached the two Knights of Pluto immediately went into defensive positions with their hands on their swords.
"Is the ship coming soon, or do I need to get ready to swim?" Baku asked brusquely.
"Shall we apprehend him, Captain?" asked the knight Laudo.
"Much as I hate to say it, I owe this man my life. Dismissed, soldiers," Steiner said curtly. While the two knights hurried off to perform their duties, Steiner walked up to the tapir wearing an expression of mixed empathy and impatience and shook his head. "And you need to leave immediately," he growled. "I have no idea how you got here, but you can't stay."
Baku threw back his head and gave a hearty belly laugh. "That's how you talk to me after two of my boys dragged your half-dead ass out of the castle feet first? Takes some balls to say that," chortled Baku. As the boat slowly started to drift onto the dock the tapir strode his portly body onto the ship and cast a skeptical eye to the knight captain behind him. "I'll send Zidane your regards. Dunno if he'll chew me out for it, though," Baku said cheekily, to Steiner's amusement.
Once Baku had departed by boat and Steiner had left on foot, the indomitable General Beatrix arrived at the dock and was unable to suppress her laughter. "I should've known that Steiner would be so loud. He's every bit the man I've known for years," she chuckled. As she stared out at the water the general dropped to her seat and sighed as she watched the waters churn. "Without war my blade will dull... the way it ought to be," Beatrix said coolly. She noticed a small envelope to her right and snatched it up, read its contents, and nearly jumped out of her skin.
Steiner sent me a love letter...?!
Once her heart had resumed its normal pace Beatrix quietly drew her legs up to her chest and chuckled. "I never knew he had feelings for me..." she murmured. "Ever since he bested me during that training match I've watched him from afar, but I never thought either of us would see each other like... that," Beatrix laughed. "But after seeing all he's done for Her Highness, my admiration has only multiplied..."
Is that all that I feel, though...?
Scene Three
The trip back from the Outer Continent had been a difficult one for Zidane. How was he supposed to make Dagger feel better? How did he feel? By the time they parted ways Zidane's doubts and bitter feelings had already begun to overwhelm him. A week after arriving back at the Mist Continent, two days before Dagger's coronation, his Tantalus brothers found him drowning his sorrows in alcohol at a bar in Alexandria. Despite their best efforts, however, they weren't able to brighten his mood.
"C'mon, man! Ease up!" admonished Cinna.
"For heaven's sake, boy, get a grip!" Ruby snapped.
"This isn't like you..." muttered Marcus.
"Pull your head out of your ass already, jackass," Blank growled. "You had to have known this was going to happen if you have a brain between your ears."
As his friends attempted to cheer him up Zidane stared blankly into the mug of alcohol that he'd dove into head first. All they got out of him was a gruff 'hmph!' before returning to his drink. "After all the time we spent together, this is just cruel. I haven't woke up next to her in almost two weeks and it's starting to piss me off!" Zidane growled. The more he stared into his beer, however, the more absurd the situation became and when Zidane grabbed hold of the mug for the umpteenth time he saw things slightly differently. "The only cruelty would be if she did stay with me..." he mumbled. "She has her world, I have mine."
While Zidane drowned his sorrows he wasn't able to notice the figure that sneaked up behind him, reared back, and smashed his fist onto the thief's head. Zidane angrily turned to chew out his attacker, but upon seeing Baku his face dropped even lower than it had been for the past week. "You're getting soft, kid!" Baku chortled. "The man I knew would have punched me a long time ago... the intolerable bastard that he was."
After nursing his shiner Zidane stumbled to his feet and stretched out his hand to his father, an act that surprised and confused him. "Will you let me back in the Troupe? So we can steal some treasure together?" Zidane asked briskly. "I'm ready and willing to pillage at a moment's notice."
Baku let out a hearty belly laugh and pushed Zidane's hand away. "You ain't got no business being in the Troupe if you can't even catch your own treasure. We don't need any lilly-livered half-asses when we go on a job," chortled Baku. With a slightly more serious gleam in his eye, Baku smirked and patted Zidane on the shoulder. "You can't even cage a canary. What kind of treasure do you think you can steal if you can't even do that, boy?" he sneered. "Go get a job as a dishwasher or something."
"You rotten...!" Zidane croaked, shortly before he returned to his drink with a huff. As Zidane lifted the mug to his lips he felt a soft tug on his pants and lowered his eyes to find Vivi staring up at him and he switched from a scowl to a fake smile. "What's up, little guy?" he said cheerfully.
"Can we visit Dagger?" Vivi asked innocently. When he received no response but a dull stare the black mage repeated, a bit more forcefully: "Can we visit Dagger?" Seeing Zidane's indifference Vivi sighed and turned away. "Aww... I'll go see her alone, then..." he mumbled, shortly before Zidane caught his arm and tugged him backwards. "Did you change your mind, then?" gasped Vivi.
"We can go say hi... wish her a happy reign, yeah," beamed Zidane. "We can at least do... that..."
What a farce. What's wrong with me?
Baku directed Zidane and Vivi to the dock where he'd returned from the castle, where the two found a pair of warriors squaring off - Freya and Amarant. With the local soldiers desperately attempting to avoid conflict Zidane laughingly whistled to catch their attention, which worked. "Yo, guys! Did you get invited to a party I never heard of?" he asked cheekily. "It'd be a shame if my own friends didn't invite me."
"Stuff it. This muscle head picked a juicy fight and I intend to pluck him like a grape," Freya growled. "The bastard insulted me."
Slightly weakening his stance Amarant cocked his head towards Zidane and Vivi. The moment had been ruined and the fight had lost its purpose. Besides that, he wanted to throttle Zidane and not Freya. "I take it you guys have met?" he asked brusquely. Zidane nodded and the redhead totally relaxed his position and shrugged his shoulders. "You guys keep some seriously mucked up company."
While Freya stewed Zidane stepped towards her and patted her on the shoulder, trying to relieve her anger. Instead she took the butt of her spear and bopped him on the head. "Hey, bygones be bygones, right?" Zidane whimpered feebly. "Can you forgive the big lug for my sake?"
"Your sake ? Don't play with me, you little twit. You've been out drinking while Dagger needs you!" snapped Freya. "I bet you haven't even found out anything more about Kuja, right? Lazy ass monkey," she snarled. "We're chasing a country-destroying sorcerer and you fill yourself with liquor? Idiot." Zidane remained solemn, prompting Freya to grab him by the collar and drag her to face her. "That monster isn't going to leave Dagger alone forever, fool!" hissed Freya. "At the very least stand up with her if you say you have anything between your legs."
"Um... I'd like to go see Dagger," whimpered Vivi.
"Try and get by me again and I'll catch you by the back of the neck and throttle you," Amarant growled.
"Relax, relax! We can sure go see her!" Zidane tittered, a fake smile on his face. As his expression drooped he sighed and averted his eyes. "Even if it's only for a few minutes once..." he muttered.
"Jackass!" Freya scolded, angrily bopping him on the head with the butt of her spear again.
Scene Four
Having convinced Freya not to throttle him Zidane booked passage on the nearby boat and the group floated from the city to the dock of Alexandria Castle. It was when they reached the castle gate and found Steiner toss Eiko out of the place that Zidane immediately regretted bringing any of them there. Eiko angrily struggled and muttered curses that her grandfather would have slapped her for saying, but Zidane remained calm and approached Steiner with what passed as a smile on his face.
"And what are you doing here?" Steiner asked haughtily. "Come to steal the princess again?"
Zidane remained silent as his smile faded and a slight eye twitch alerted Steiner that he hadn't made a very smart decision in pissing off the thief. To diffuse the situation Vivi stepped between the two and patted Steiner on the shoulder. "We'd like to see Dagger, okay?" he asked cheerfully. "Do you think you can let us do that?"
Steiner promptly saluted and patted Vivi on the head. "If Master Vivi wishes it, I shall make it so!" he tittered. He slowly turned an eye to Zidane, whose face had gone flat, and quietly swallowed the frog in his throat. They'd had their differences, sure, but this time he got the kind of vibe that Zidane wanted to beat the living hell out of him. "Is... Is there anything you have to say?" Steiner whimpered.
"I came here for Dagger," Zidane said coolly as the animosity vanished from his face. "No more, no less."
Immediately Steiner startled, sensing the hatred in Zidane fade away like a summer mirage. Even for someone as dense as he was, it wasn't hard for the knight captain to pick up the vibe that Zidane really meant: "Bring Dagger. Now." After wiping the sweat from his brow Steiner hurried off to make the arrangements, and once everything was in order he gathered the group at the bottom of a staircase as Dagger, dressed in royal robes, entered the scene from above. She and Zidane shared a very uncomfortable glance, but neither of them spoke.
"Thank you for coming, everyone!" Dagger trilled cheerfully.
"You look awesome!" chirped Eiko. "Good thing I don't have to worry about you stealing him any-" Amarant lightly bopped the girl on the back of the head, evoking a nasty death glare and a muttered curse. " Don't hit me !" she hissed. "What's wrong with you?!" She received her own glance, one that moistened her underwear and so Eiko quickly fell in line. "Okay, okay! Let's stick to her looking awesome, God..."
"Yeah, you're really pretty!" gasped Vivi.
Freya tipped her hat, bowed her head, and knelt before Dagger with a gentle grace that only a Burmecian Dragoon could muster. Even if she wanted to say something else, the Dragoon knew that she had a certain line to say. "You really are a strong, vibrant young woman. A good reign to you!" she said cheerfully. As her eye turned to a noticeably reticent Zidane she narrowed her eyes and lifted herself to her feet. "And do you have anything to say?" Freya asked coldly.
" No," Zidane said plainly, shocking all of his friends and enraging Freya.
Eiko swiftly hurried up the stairs and brushed past Steiner, patted Dagger on the leg and pointed to her Memory Earring. "Do you think we can trade jewels?" she chirped. "You'd look great in my earring." Dagger smiled and exchanged her jewels with Eiko, taking the Memory Earring and keeping her pendant while also handing the young summoner the other two jewels. With a wide smile Eiko waved goodbye to Dagger and, as the princess departed and she descended the stairs the summoner angrily punched Zidane in the gut. "And what the hell was that all about?!" Eiko snapped. "You don't have anything to say? I call bull."
Though the blow winded him briefly Zidane quickly recovered and dropped to his seat with a loud huff. He let out a sharp breath, took in a quicker one, and laid a hand to his face with a sigh. "I could never lie to her..." Zidane moaned. "How can I say 'good luck' when all I keep thinking about is being next to her?" he said coldly. As a more solemn look crossed his face the thief brushed the sweat from his brow and stumbled to his feet. "I'd slit my own throat before ever lying to that girl," mumbled Zidane. These words seemed to silence his friends as the thief quietly exited the castle with his head bowed, and they quickly followed him.
Parallel Perspective: Love on a Moonlit Night
Sitting at the dock where her letter had told Zidane to meet her at midnight, Eiko gloomily cut circles in the water with her finger and muttered a nasty word. "Zidane only wants Dagger... even someone like me can see that. That insensitive fool!" Eiko growled. "But... Could I honestly stand in their way even if I could...?" she murmured. Suddenly hearing the sound of footsteps the summoner quickly ducked behind a nearby set of stairs just as Blank and Marcus emerged from her right. "I didn't ask those dumb-dumbs to come!" hissed Eiko.
"Why would anyone write me a love letter and say to meet her here?" muttered Blank.
"Why would anyone write you a love letter, period?" moaned Marcus.
This time it was the thieves who heard a commotion, so they quickly ducked behind the same stairs that Eiko had hidden behind and found a very displeased summoner glaring back at them with daggers in her eyes. "Why would a kid write me a love letter?!" whispered Blank.
Eiko angrily bopped him on the head and stared him down. "I did no such thing !" Eiko hissed. "Point one, I'm an adult. Point two , who the hell cares about you ?!" she snarled.
"Then the one who wrote the letter was-" gasped Blank. He quickly rustled through his pockets in an attempt to find something, but when he came up empty the thief's face broke out into a far more distressed expression. "I dropped it!" he choked. Though he moved to retrieve it Marcus deftly smacked his head down and pointed to the scene that was now unfolding over at the fountain, where Steiner and Beatrix now quietly approached one another.
The two knights hesitantly inched their way close to each other, their heartbeats rapid and their breathing still. Neither of them knew about who had actually written the letter. Oddly enough, since they both secretly had feelings about one another the perfect storm had been created... until Baku sneezed as he waltzed in, scattering Beatrix and Steiner to opposite ends of the square, and for his insolence Eiko rushed up and smacked him in the nuts with her racket.
"You just ruined the moment of the century!" Eiko hissed. "What the hell is wrong with-" At last noticing that Steiner and Beatrix had seen her, the summoner feebly put her hands up and began to inch away from the knights timidly. "Uh... just passing... by..." she whimpered weakly, shortly before she turned and ran as fast as she could to escape the knights. " Stupid Zidane! This is all your fault!" she roared.
Parallel Perspective: What Now?
Back at the same bar where Zidane had been drinking Amarant, Freya, and Vivi now sat in a very uncomfortable silence, none of them sure what to say or what to do. Vivi briefly began to open his mouth, though when Freya cast a scornful look at him the black mage withered and returned to his orange juice. The status quo remained for several minutes before the sound of footsteps broke through the silence and Eiko barreled inside the bar.
"Stupid thieves! Someone ought to take a boot and shove it up your sorry rears!" Eiko snarled. Shortly after muttering another few nasty words the summoner quietly turned to find Doctor Tot looking back at her and she immediately shrieked and skittered backwards. "The hell do you want?!" she croaked. "This is your fault too, you know! If you hadn't written that letter-"
"Um... I simply came here to ask if you would tell me about Madain Sari," Doctor Tot whimpered. "Everything else I know nothing about."
Eiko sheepishly hung her head and sighed. "My bad, man. I guess I do still owe you, even after that letter totally ruined the mood and led to the biggest example of heartbreak ever ..." she groaned. When she received four confused stares the summoner scratched the back of her head and giggled. "Okay, okay, you don't need to hear about it..." Eiko moaned. "What do you want to know, nerdy dude?"
"Well... Our conversation would be better if we could talk at my home in Treno..." muttered Doctor Tot.
With an eager nod of her head Eiko quickly turned to run out of the bar but instead crashed head long into Zidane, who was nearly winded when the girl struck him in the gut accidentally. He quickly recovered, however, and stretched his neck to loosen his own emotions. "Interesting that you say that, 'cause I want to attend a card tournament in Treno," Zidane said coolly. "Can I hitch a ride? I'll let you guys watch me totally crush the competition."
Though Freya and Vivi immediately nodded Amarant remained unconvinced and instead leaned back in his bar stool with a nasty scowl on his face. Zidane sheepishly scratched his head and tried to explain what he meant, but before he could Amarant hopped from the bar and smacked him over the head, apparently an indication that he was going to take the offer. After rubbing away the shiner that Amarant had given him, Zidane smirked and turned to Doctor Tot, who could only laugh.
Scene Five
The party, led by Doctor Tot, departed Alexandria and wound up at the Gargant station beneath the castle. Although Freya stared at the carriage in wonder, Amarant gruffly walked inside and sat down, beckoning her to join him - she did, although they nearly came to blows again. Several hours later they arrived at Gargan Roo, where they hurried up the ladder and entered Doctor Tot's rather elaborate abode. Freya marveled at the sight of the observatory, but Amarant simply grunted and turned away.
Eiko asked to do some sightseeing around the city, with Vivi agreeing to take her on a tour. Freya and Amarant departed separately, which left Zidane and Doctor Tot to discuss the tournament together. The scholar explained that it was the last day for registration and suggested that Zidane hurry to sign up. Before he could leave, however, Doctor Tot grabbed Zidane by the sleeve and tugged him backwards. He quietly produced a single card, a rare Red Rose card, and handed it to an ecstatic Zidane before the two parted.
Parallel Perspective: Dummies!
Shortly after leaving the doctor's home Vivi was nearly left behind by an agitated Eiko, who stormed away from the tower with a nasty scowl on her face. "Zidane is so freaking stupid that it hurts!" she hissed through gritted teeth. Vivi responded with a blank stare and Eiko angrily shrieked and clapped both hands on his shoulders. " Dummy! Zidane and Dagger are clearly in love, but the dummies won't admit it!" Eiko snapped. "Oh, but I would have made such a faithful wife to Zidane..." swooned the summoner.
"Um... Huh?" Vivi mumbled dumbly.
"Dummy! Everyone around here is so damned stupid!" screeched Eiko.
As Eiko ran away screaming curses, Vivi turned to find a familiar face and immediately stretched out his hand to the man. The man in question was Marco, a worker for the Bishop family that had been the one that arranged Vivi's airship ride to Alexandria for free. Marco muttered a brief prayer to the gods that they could meet again, while Vivi again thanked him for his help. When Marco suggested that he return home to see his family, Vivi's thoughts began to wander. Even if his grandfather was dead, though, he could at least visit the house again and so the black mage waved goodbye to Marco and hurried off to Quan's Dwelling.
Parallel Perspective: Round One, Attic Man Wake
Zidane strode up towards the card stadium, where he saw a man and his son discussing the tournament. Although the boy wanted the father to enter the tournament he was rebuffed, and though the child insisted that his father was the best card player in Treno the man sheepishly admitted that he hadn't won a game in two years. This horrified the boy, who let out a nasty shriek and ran past Zidane with his father chasing close behind, though Zidane didn't let the exchange bother him much.
At the registration desk Zidane flashed five cards: Lindblum, Namingway, Prima Vista, Viltgance, and the Red Rose, which was his ticket to registering for the tournament. With the deal sealed Zidane quickly hurried inside the stadium and shuffled into his seat across from an old wind bag called Attic Man Wake, who had already placed his deck on the table. Zidane slyly slid his own cards onto the playing space and the grid formed in preparation for the game to begin.
Attic Man Wake went first and set a Sand Golem card in the corner, its arrows pointing out in defense. In response Zidane lay down Lindblum in a similar position, then Attic Man Wake slapped down a familiar monster, a Carrion Worm, that was also positioned in defense. The idea was that if Zidane played incorrectly the arrows would all point together and the old man would take Zidane's final card. Zidane smirked and set down Prima Vista, and when Attic Man Wake clapped down a Hedgehog Pie and moved to attack it, it immediately turned blue and all of Attic Man Wake's cards similarly shifted, which won the game for Zidane.
Parallel Perspective: Back Home
Having fought his way through the wilderness, Vivi eventually returned back to his home, Quan's Dwelling. The place remained the same: a large cavern with a bubbling pool of acid that he nearly fell into when he first came there. Quan had caught him at the last moment and pulled him back up, and though Vivi thanked the Qu for his help the gourmand instead sized Vivi up and adopted him by muttering that the black mage would be very tasty in a proper bath of soy sauce.
Vivi entered the kitchen and found, of course, that it hadn't changed. It was still covered in dust. The black mage turned his attention back to the past and recalled that towards the end of his life Quan did nothing but fast, so his cooking tools fell into disuse. Even as he withered away, however, Quan continued to read and write cookbooks. Vivi took one up and began to read, though he startled when he found a familiar dish: rock-fisted potato stew.
Unable to understand how his grandfather had learned a dish from a completely separate continent, Vivi continued to read the notes scribbled on the page. The Qu's explanation of how he learned the dish was strikingly unusual, that he'd dreamed of a cafe run by moogles who had introduced him to the dish. As he continued to read, however, the black mage was shocked to read that Quan had apparently sampled the dish and found it very satisfying.
Because Quan had fasted until his death, of course, this made no sense. Vivi finished reading the notes, which detailed that Quan had mastered the art of envisioning food without eating it, and in a state of utter bliss the Qu realized the true path of the gourmand and had written down the recipe before scribbling the words: "Me did it." Vivi questioned what he'd just read, knowing that Quina was such a ravenous eater. When he could find no logical explanation he instead exited to where his grandfather had gone to fish.
Vivi noted that the time on the clock had stopped at just the hour that Quan had expired. Resolved to carry on his grandfather's art he turned to grab the fishing pole on the shelf and was shocked when a spectral hand grabbed hold of it first. He watched in amazement as a spectral Quan not only took the rod, but cast it as well. When the black mage watched a hallucination of himself, however, everything became stranger still.
The past Vivi had asked to help Quan fish, but his grandfather had rejected his help and ordered that Vivi prepare the kitchen for sushi. The Qu added that he would allow Vivi to watch his knife work if he did well, which had pleased Vivi at the time. The hallucination suddenly ended and left Vivi in stunned silence, and if he had a face a smile would have crossed it. As the black mage waddled out of the dwelling Quan's image reformed, still fishing.
Parallel Perspective: Remembering That Day
The auction house hadn't changed. The rich and powerful still threw money at the auctioneer like they were trading leaves in a forest, though this time he wasn't welcome anymore. Amarant, disguised in a thick cloak that hid his face, stood outside the auction house as he stared out at the lake down below. As he watched the water move his memories continued to flow back, and though he wanted to restrain himself the redhead's teeth ground every time he remembered his face.
Freya emerged from the auction house several thousand Gil poorer and noticed the redhead straightaway. She approached silently, tapped him on the shoulder, and when he turned around she flashed the ring that she'd bought in an attempt to initiate a conversation, but received only stony silence. "You can at least talk to me, you ass," Freya hissed. "Come on, show some damned effort."
"Shove off," grunted Amarant. "I don't need any rats running around in my business."
"Oh, so you want a fight?" growled Freya, her hand inching towards the spear on her back.
Amarant shook his head and waved her off. It wasn't like he'd intended to be as much of a bastard as he'd ended up making himself out to be. "I'm just thinking about old times... and if I take the cloak off they'll try to arrest me," Amarant said coolly. "Some idiot would try to take the bounty that that asshole Zidane put on my head."
Several months earlier one of Zidane's jobs had brought him to the auction house, where he'd snatched a large white diamond from the auctioneer before bolting out the door. Unfortunately for him (and Amarant), the redhead had been hired as a watchman and barred Zidane from leaving, his knuckles cracking and a wicked gleam in his eye. "And you think you're going where, precisely?" growled Amarant. "Give it back."
When two guardsmen burst out of the auction house in hot pursuit, Zidane's eyes flashed with a mischievous glimmer and he tossed the diamond into Amarant's hands before running away. With the guards now believing that he'd been the one who had stolen the diamond, Amarant bit his lip as they confronted him with their swords drawn. He muttered a low curse before easily disarming the guards, shoved them to the ground, and slowly lumbered away from the auction house a wanted man.
"Zidane will always be Zidane," Freya remarked dryly. "You can't help but love the bastard, though."
"Funny, since I can't," grunted Amarant.
Freya threw her head back and laughed, a loud bellowing belly laugh that only stoked Amarant's ire further. When she composed herself the Burmecian put a hand to her hip and her laughter dimmed to a chuckle. "We still have a fight to finish," she said flatly. "I expect that you'll do your part when the time comes."
With a low growl Amarant tightened his fist and ground his teeth. He'd come with Zidane to figure out why he'd let him live, not to fight an ungodly powerful sorcerer. Honestly he couldn't care less what Kuja had done to Zidane, yet there was a tiny part of him that felt a measure of disgust at the wizard's methods and machinations. Amarant groaned and waved Freya off again, further enraging her before turning back to watching the water down below the auction house, and he bit his lip to force back his emotions.
I still haven't found my answer. If he doesn't give me one soon, I'm out.
Scene Six
After the match with Attic Man Wake, Zidane had declined to take any of his cards and had instead returned to Doctor Tot's home for a brief exchange of liquor. By the time he'd finished speaking with the scholar and returned to the card stadium his next match had already been decided against the daughter of the Synthesis Shop owner, Cardona Bishop, famed for her strategy of countering an opponent's sneakiest moves with sneaky moves of her own. She'd watched the duel with Attic Man Wake and knew now that she needed to pack a few fliers herself.
Zidane began the game by laying down Prima Vista in a corner, but this time Cardona was ready and played a Zuu card that attacked and changed the airship to red. Now alarmed Zidane slapped down Viltgance and took both cards, but Cardona responded by playing a Garuda card that took them as well. With his best card played and already countered Zidane thought he was cooked, but then he saw the card that Doctor Tot had given him and slapped down the Red Rose, which turned the Garuda, flipped the other cards blue, and won him the match.
While remaining in the stadium Zidane struck up a conversation with a fellow card player, from whom he learned that the champion was a beautiful young sailor girl. Naturally Zidane's eyes went wide and he muttered a few lewd comments, though when the player averted his eyes the thief snatched him by the collar and spat out a curse at him. The player admitted finally that Erin was only a proxy for the real champion, Regent Cid, who directed her with hand signals from afar. Zidane was surprised at first, but resolved in the end to take whatever rare card the Regent would offer him when he lost.
Sailor Erin entered the stadium wearing a large cloak that disguised Cid's Oglop form, then shuffled into the chair and laid her cards down as Zidane prepared his own deck. Zidane started by playing Namingway not in a corner, but on the side. Cid whispered something in the sailor's ear and Erin quickly played an Oglop card that was positioned away from the Namingway. A confused Zidane set Lindblum, but Erin replied by playing a King Oglop that changed Namingway to red.
This left Zidane with a problem: he had one blue card, Cid had three red cards, and if he didn't turn at least two cards he would lose the match. With only one card in his hand the duel seemed to be over, until Zidane clapped down the Viltgance and blasted the King Oglop to bits. This changed both the King Oglop and Lindblum blue, winning him the game and the championship title. Cid angrily popped out from the cloak and fumed that his own airship had been used against him, then furiously told Zidane to take his King Oglop card. When Zidane refused the Regent stormed out of the stadium with both Erin and Zidane in close pursuit.
"How did you become the champion, anyway?" Zidane asked confidently. "I doubt playing with bugs would be a winning strategy most of the time."
"-Gwok, Gwok!- I'm not just here to play cards!" Cid spat defiantly. "I brought my new Hilda Garde II to test its new steam engine."
"Ahem... and it runs like crap," muttered the sailor.
Cid angrily hopped up on Erin's shoulder and chittered in her ear a few nasty comments, then jumped back down and bowed his head in surrender. "The steam engine is... compromised because my mind isn't the same as an Oglop," he said bitterly. "When I regain my human form the Hilda Garde III will be a masterpiece of engineering."
Eiko desperately charged up to Zidane's side, though when she noticed the Regent she immediately let out a shriek. "Why is there a gigantic bug wearing a cape?!" she shrieked. "Even the Oglops are big in Treno!"
"I am the Regent of Lindblum!" Cid snarled.
"Whatever, we have bigger issues... Mog talked to another moogle outside of the armory," Eiko said warily, "and because moogles are linked telepathically he heard that Alexandria is under attack!"
After fighting back his horror Zidane's resolve returned to him and he furiously spun around to meet Cid with a mad desperation in his eyes. "Get that steam engine or whatever-it-is ready now!" he snapped. Though he saw the contempt in the Regent's eyes Zidane bit his lip and stomped his foot. "We don't have time to discuss royalty and hierarchy! We have to find Vivi, Amarant and Freya ASAP!" Zidane roared.
Parallel Perspective: Preparations for War
Dagger's coronation would have one very unwelcome guest in attendance: Kuja, who had infiltrated Alexandria under the cover of night. Once he'd recruited the two jesters the sorcerer set his plan in motion by throwing up his arms into the air, causing a large figure to burst out of the clouds above Alexandria. Having been summoned by its false master Bahamut rained down destruction on the city while Kuja released a swarm of Mistodons to assault the populace, prompting Dagger to shed her royal robes and don her jumpsuit again in preparation for battle.
Beatrix met her in the foyer, where the Knights of Pluto under Steiner had gathered together to fulfill her orders. The princess gave them four tasks: one, gather information; two, defend the townspeople; three, contact Lindblum for assistance; and finally, begin preparation to fire the cannons at the enemy. She did so reluctantly, however, knowing that Bahamut was one of the targets that they'd be shooting at.
"I'm giving you all full discretion as to who goes where!" Dagger ordered briskly as she bowed her head in deference. "Just defend the country! Please!" The Knights of Pluto immediately saluted and hurried off to complete their duties, while Beatrix laid a hand on Dagger's back and patted it in commendation of her excellent work. The knight then drew her sword and leapt from the balcony, landing next to Steiner as he drew his own Mythril Sword, prepared to defend Alexandria from the Mistodons.
"We shall not fail you, Your Highness!" Beatrix said with a stern salute.
As the two retainers charged out of the castle to prepare their counter attack, Dagger remained in the foyer as the weight of the situation finally struck her and the princess's legs buckled, dropping her to her knees on the dirty floor. Desperately gripping her head in both hands Dagger desperately prayed for someone to save her beloved kingdom. Her eyes opened slowly, a firm determination in them, as she realized she had a protector: herself. But, what could she do? It was when a stream of colored lights burst from her pendant, however, that a thin smile formed on her face and she stumbled to her feet drunkenly.
I will protect Alexandria... just like Steiner and Beatrix are doing! But... please ... come soon, Zidane...!
Scene Seven
Kuja's Mistodons, having been unleashed on the city, had gone about their sinister itinerary with great glee. The foul monsters roamed the streets of Alexandria in search of victims to murder, with several citizens falling prey to their vile fangs. There was a strand of hope, however, hope that came in the form of two holy swords of vengeance that burst from the castle and entered the square with their wielders prepared for battle.
Both Beatrix and Steiner went to work immediately and, together, dispatched half a dozen of the evil beasts as they attempted to victimize the citizens of Alexandria. Once the square had been cleared Beatrix wiped the sweat from her brow and turned her eye to Steiner, who had already begun to tire. "I'm going to tell you this only once..." Beatrix said coolly. " Don't die."
"That goes both ways," heaved Steiner as his second wind caught up with him. "Don't you do anything rash, either."
"I'll do my best," Beatrix grinned.
The two Paladins charged down the main street of the city, their holy swords raised in defense of their beloved country. Mistodon after Mistodon fell prey to their mighty blades, though the pair was steadily forced back by the onslaught of the monsters and were pushed into a corner of the square from where there seemed no respite. Four large monsters barred their path and attacked, though when they were dispatched the knights found that they were the ones who had been cornered.
It was an intense battle, one that nearly cost Beatrix her sword arm. Wounded, she dropped to one knee and deftly switched Save the Queen to her opposite hand, still prepared to fight to the death for her country. The Mistodons called her bluff and struck at her violently, and though she put up a stern resistance she was eventually cornered and her blade dropped from her hand as she fell to one knee in exhaustion.
Despite her wounds Beatrix stood tall and snatched Save the Queen back into her non-dominant hand, stumbling to a defensive position as two large Mistodons surrounded her. As her breath came quickly and her heart beat rapidly Beatrix was stunned when one of the Mistodons had its head leave its shoulders. She swiveled around to find an entranced Steiner, his Mythril Sword coated in blue light, easily cut the second Mistodon down the center with his blade and quickly hurried to her side. Steiner reached into his pouch and tossed an item to his fellow knight, which she caught and discovered was a rare Elixir. Although she was stunned that Steiner had been holding back such a valuable item Beatrix quickly applied the tonic to her arm, finally restoring it to full fighting shape.
"Why on earth didn't you use this yourself...?!" Beatrix croaked. "You're just as injured as I am!"
"I saved it to protect the kingdom... a-and you," Steiner squeaked awkwardly. He was still uncomfortable expressing his feelings for his fellow knight, and though Beatrix was stunned silent she quickly switched her blade back into her dominant hand and rose to her feet in preparation to do battle in mortal combat. "We won't fail Her Highness, Beatrix!" he heaved haggardly.
"Ha ha ha... Indeed we won't..." Beatrix chuckled. She tightened her grip on her sword and brandished it in front of herself. "Let's clean house."
Scene Eight
It was the most dire hour in the history of the nation, and it fell to her to protect the kingdom. Dagger prayed desperately to her pendant for guidance and heard a voice telling her to run to the top of the castle. She quickly obliged and hurried through the fortress, using the pendant's light to guide her up a stairwell that she'd never seen before, finally ending up on a large platform in the center of Alexandria Castle located just below its massive crystal sword.
As she watched Bahamut wreak havoc on her country Dagger desperately prayed to become bathed in Trance, though her spirit refused to give her that hope and the princess's desperation continued to accelerate. Finally, her emotions overcoming her, Dagger fell to her knees trembling and shouted out a prayer to save her kingdom. She lifted her head and found a sight approaching from above, a light whose brilliance had the same shine as her own jewels. The Memory Earring had begun to resonate as Eiko descended towards the castle, and though Dagger reached up to catch her the summoner instead stopped in midair, encased and bathed in holy light.
"Eiko?! What is happening?!" Dagger screeched. "Tell me, please..."
Eiko silently withdrew the Falcon's Claw and the Desert Star and held them out to Dagger with a smile on her face. The princess quickly grasped the ramifications and removed the Memory Earring and her own pendant, and they laid them together on the ground. All four jewels began to glow, brighter and brighter, until finally they reconnected into a single pendant - the original pendant that had once been Alexander's summoning stone.
Laying her hands on Dagger's Eiko closed her eyes tight in prayer and the princess quickly returned the gesture. As a thin film of light began to form around the summoners' bodies they began to lift up into the air. Their heartbeats hastened, their wills became stronger than steel, and with a sudden surge of power they both emerged in Trance, floating together with their hands laid on top of one another's.
A thin beam of blue light shot up from the pendant and pierced the heavens, an act that immediately caught Bahamut's full attention. Two thick, angelic wings emerged from the castle and moved to swallow it in their embrace. Seeing this as a challenge Bahamut breathed out a barrage of hellish flames, though when they struck the wings the angelic arms burst open and dispelled the fire completely while revealing a massive construct around Alexandria Castle.
It was a monstrously huge machine, forged of steel and Mythril and powered by the dreams of summoners long past. With its two massive arms locked and emitting steam the Holy Avenger Alexander's wings glowed until finally a barrage of countless holy stars burst from them and soared through the air towards Bahamut. The Dragon King, sensing the danger it was in, zipped high into the sky and desperately attempted to evade the Holy Judgment. The rays of white starlight locked onto it, however, and despite the Eidolon's best attempts the blasts surrounded, encircled, and converged on Bahamut to totally eradicate it in a festival of brilliant blue lights.
Though Eiko and Dagger looked out in satisfaction the sky again split to reveal a titanic eye in the sky above Alexander, who brought its wings around the castle to protect it. Watching from a nearby rooftop a very satisfied Kuja put his fingers together and clicked them. To his shock, however, his action did nothing. He repeated again and again before finally realizing that he no longer controlled the airship Invincible and Kuja let out a wild shriek of fury as the Invincible sent down a small blue ray at Alexander. The castle's crystal began to shake, the Eidolon's wings started to dissolve, and finally the crystal capping Alexandria Castle skewered Alexander's head from below. The shards of both Alexander and the castle began to break down, both of them falling to ruin as Dagger and Eiko similarly seemed doomed to destruction.
Eiko quickly grabbed a hold of a nearby wire and caught herself but Dagger wasn't so fortunate and began to plummet to the destruction below her. Before she could hit the flames, however, a strong hand caught her by the waist and lifted her to safety. Dagger's eyes went wide and she lifted her head to find Zidane, his hold strong and a smile on his face, a firm grim on another wire that carried them high over the carnage and to safety. Overcome by emotion she buried her head to his breast and began to cry, though when he softly stroked her hair her only desire was to embrace him back.
Scene Nine
It had been a brutal, cataclysmic night. By the time Zidane awoke he opened his eyes and found himself in a bed inside the Lindblum Grand Castle's guest room, and he suddenly jolted up in his seat to find Blank staring back at him. Blank cracked a fragile smile as he leaned back against a pillar and sighed. "You have two options... go find Dagger or visit the Regent," he said warily. "I already know that you're going to choose Door Number One. Go take care of her."
Blank's assessment was one hundred percent correct and Zidane quickly bolted from the guest room. He hurried up to the observatory high atop the castle, where he found Dagger leaning against the stone wall overlooking the kingdom of Lindblum. Though he approached her, Zidane quickly realized that she needed to spend some time alone and reluctantly headed down the stairs to meet with the Regent.
As Zidane entered the throne room Cid hopped from his seat and desperately moved to ask him if he was alright, though Zidane's cocky smirk silenced him and dropped him back into his throne. "The rest of the group is down below in the conference room," Cid said coolly. Zidane quickly moved to join them on the next floor down as Cid's entire throne detached from its resting place, zoomed downwards, and finally crashed straight onto the floor of the conference room.
"Damned bug!" Amarant cursed. "You scared the hell out of us!"
"My apologies, but we need to begin the meeting..." Cid said apologetically.
"The princess doesn't seem to be here..." mumbled Steiner.
"She's up at the observatory," Zidane said briskly. "I think she needs some time alone, though. Eiko can go get her." While Eiko darted off to grab Dagger the thief grabbed a hold of a piece of meat, ripped off a chunk, and boorishly swallowed the giant chunk of protein, and though Artania moved to protest Cid softly overruled him. "We need to start as soon as possible," he said plainly. "Let's start without Dagger."
Parallel Perspective: The Princess's Lament
The kingdom of Lindblum was always going to be beautiful, no matter when you gazed out upon its radiance. Dagger was doing just that, staring down at the fields below and basking in their glory before she finally shook her head, fell to her knees, and buried her face in her hands.
Everything was my fault. Everything started when I ran away during the play. No... Mother would have seized my Eidolons either way, and if I hadn't escaped there would have been no resistance to stop her madness. The only result would have been the destruction of our continent and my mother's death at Kuja's hand... But seeing the destruction makes my heart ache ...
Why didn't I try to listen to him more?! It was like I didn't trust him, even after everything that we've gone through... I guess he knew he was out of his league... Wait, what league? We fought our way through two continents and I just... threw him away... I... I want to scream !
Her lungs breathed in deep and she tried to push the air out, but nothing came out. Dagger's eyes went wide as she realized what had happened, that she'd lost her voice, and with a soft whimper she dropped to her knees and began to cry. When Eiko arrived and found her on the floor she hurriedly brought her to her seat and, when Dagger tried and failed again to scream the young summoner quickly grasped the ramifications of what had happened and cradled her in her arms.
Scene Ten
The final report on the Battle of Alexandria included the sad news that General Beatrix had been badly injured. During the attack her sword arm was badly damaged and it was up in the air if she would ever swing it again. Steiner took it hardest of all, especially because he'd been there when the general had taken the bad blow. "The attack took away so much from us..." he bemoaned. "I blame myself. It was because of my weakness that the damage occurred."
Freya shook her head sadly and took a sip of her wine. It wasn't so simple as to gauge the pain of a single woman's suffering against all the havoc that they'd endured. "All three great nations have lost much... Burmecia especially. Every last man, woman, and child on the Mist Continent now feels the scars of Brahne's wars," Freya said coolly. As she bit her lip to keep herself from screaming, Freya restrained herself enough to drink a bit more wine. "The task now is to make Kuja pay. His sins will come back and bite him on the ass soon."
"And you'll make that happen how? This guy toppled a queen that toppled all three great nations," muttered Amarant. "He's a sorcerer powerful enough to control Eidolons and destroy whole countries. You all are biting off more than you can chew if you think you can fight that."
"Well, we have to do something!" Zidane insisted.
With a sigh Amarant leaned back against the wall and shook his head at the sheer audacity that he was witnessing. "We were all there at the Iifa Tree. Kuja all but blinked and Dagger and Vivi's best efforts accomplished nothing. This is nuts," Amarant growled. "The fight's futile. Switch from swearing vengeance to seeking survival. That's the best that you can hope for."
"But now I've got a personal reason to fight the bastard," Cid snapped. "During the evacuation I watched him depart on my Hilda Garde I, the airship my that was stolen from me. Even worse than that," he said darkly, "it was manned by a contingent of black mages... ones that talked."
Vivi seized up and nearly fell over in shock at Cid's claims, though ZIdane turned his attention to a slightly different topic. "By the way... How did someone steal the airship?" he asked coolly. "The culprit was able to move in your own bedroom without suspicion and get close enough to you to morph you in your sleep. The only conclusion that I can reach..." Zidane growled, "is that Hilda warped you and stole the airship herself. Perhaps one of the legendary trysts that the Regent is known for on the back streets?"
"Ugh... on the head..." whimpered Cid.
"We don't have time to worry about marriage counseling," sighed Zidane. "We need to find Kuja as soon as possible, and if we find your wife in the process all the better."
"Um... Zidane? The others would never work with that jerk unless he tricked them," Vivi said sadly. As his fist tightened the black mage narrowed his eyes and remembered the kindness that they'd shown him when he first met them. "I'm going to figure it out... and make him pay."
Doctor Tot, who had entered just as Cid's infidelity was revealed, quietly shuffled into a seat next to Zidane and took a cup of coffee to his lips. "We seem to be missing two very important individuals," he said darkly. A sudden look of worry crossed the scholar's face as he realized the implications of his own words. "Does that mean that they... during the attack, did they-"
Zidane shook his head and took a swig of his beer. "No, everyone made it out alive. Eiko's out at the observatory snatching Dagger up for the meeting," he said calmly. Eiko's panicked arrival, however, immediately made the thief drop his mug and slam his hand on the table in panic. "What happened?!" Zidane choked. "Is she alright?!"
"No... She's lost her voice," sighed Eiko. "She can't talk anymore."
Eiko had barely finished speaking before Zidane barreled past her and scrambled towards the guest room, with Steiner and Doctor Tot in hot pursuit. He found the princess staring blankly at the window, began to panic, and frantically grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her back and forth. Receiving no response but a soft, silent sigh Zidane weakly stepped back and nearly knocked over Doctor Tot. "She... she just lost... her voice...?!" he croaked. " What the hell does that mean ?!"
"You were there. You watched her lose her mother and her kingdom. She's clearly in a state of severe shock," Doctor Tot sighed. "She feels guilty for not asking for help from you folks earlier, I'm guessing. Not having had you at her side during the attack, Zidane, seems to have affected her the most," he said sadly. "There's no telling how long it might take for her to recover."
"I-I... never blamed her... not once...!" gasped Zidane. "God, Dagger..."
"I believe this is only temporary. However, until she regains her speech she obviously cannot talk, fight, or do anything to protect herself," said Doctor Tot sadly. "Her mind is too muddled to do anything but grieve."
"Then we need to find a way to get her back! If we need Cid to get his body back, then we need to do it fast!" Zidane snapped. "Do you know any way to change him back into a human? Anything at all?"
Doctor Tot cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head. There was a potential, yes. However, the cure may well be worse than the disease. "I've read of one way to reverse a metamorphosis... in a comic book," he moaned. "The way it was described was... less than kosher."
"Well, we have to do something!" Zidane insisted desperately.
Scene Eleven
Any chance was better than no chance. Zidane and Doctor Tot met with Cid and Artania in his chambers, where Zidane was given a grocery list of rare ingredients that he needed to mix in a specific ratio. He would need the Strange Potion, the Unusual Potion, and the Beautiful Potion, all of which were rare but available in certain places. Despite his doubts that the idea would even work Zidane hastily gathered together the three potions, Doctor Tot mixed them appropriately, and the concoction was applied to Regent Cid's Oglop body.
The cure was, indeed, worse than the disease - it changed Cid from an Oglop to a frog. Now desperate with need the Regent declared that he would take no more antidotes, instead he would seek his wife out to reverse the metamorphosis herself. He suggested using the Blue Narciss, Brahne's escape pod, to search her out by sea. When he'd ridden on the craft he'd realized how sturdy it was and believed that, with the Lindblum and Alexandrian navies crushed, it was their best chance of maneuvering across the seas.
Cid ordered Engineer Zebolt to service the Blue Narciss immediately. Vivi suggested their first course of action: return to the Black Mage Village to find a clue as to why they'd followed Kuja. The Regent quickly agreed and gathered the party (including Quina) aboard the Blue Narciss to prepare for their next move. Blank would serve as the ship's navigator and protect it while it was docked. Although Vivi was ecstatic that he'd finally ride a ship the greater concern was making sure than Quina didn't eat the Regent.
Although there was much discussion it was decided that Quina would be segregated in a separate part of the ship so that they wouldn't pounce on Cid. In addition, a final party was decided on: Zidane, Vivi, Freya, and Eiko. Amarant was too indifferent to interfere, Dagger was of course incapacitated, and Steiner refused to leave Dagger's side. Quina had declined the offer to return to the Black Mage Village when they were told that they still couldn't eat the chocobo egg there, so the four warriors quickly set sail from Serpent's Gate with their destination chosen: the Black Mage Village.
Author's Notes
Geez... I did most of this in two days. Exhausting, but I'm actually quite satisfied with the finished product. I believe I can say with a good degree of certainty that you'll never hear about Tetra Master ever again in this story, and good riddance to it. It was sort of fun to choreograph the games and make them stand out from one another, but the damned game is so freaking agitating that even just writing about it made me a bit cross. Either way, I'm pretty sure that none of us ever need to worry about Tetra Master again... unless you replay the game, in which case it's all on you.