Filling In The Blanks
A/N: Okay... This is where disarray starts, so stay with me here people... All will be explained in the next two chapters!! I apologize that I was a day late. I had plans for the Fourth, Fifth, and half of the six O.o
Disclaimer: I wish I owned, but I don't. Sigh. What a depressing thing to put at the beginning of every chapter!
Quick Random Thought: Last day of school tomorrow!! (That was a long time ago :/)
Chapter 4: A New World?
Zidane shook violently from the cold, as though his body had been numb from it for some time. Whipping his head to the side, he tried to make himself comfortable.
For some reason that night, he simply couldn't, and that irritated him to no extent. Of course he wasn't awake, he just - knew... Almost like a half sleep.
And then it hit him...
Shooting straight up in bed, he looked around wildly, trying in vain to locate some sort of familiarity. As his eyes darted around the room, he noticed it was very cold, and he wasn't the only person in the room. Standing up and standing on his small cream colored cot, he glanced down the long hall outlined by silver brick and wooden support beams close to the ceiling with random antique candles dotted across the walls, lit to give only a small bit of light.
It seemed as though the hall never ended, and the only thing he could look upon as far as he could see was people sleeping on these nasty cots. Stumbling down, he moved to the person next to him.
His eyelashes laid peacefully against his cheeks, black hair ruffled with pale skin. He was wearing a cream blouse and brown pants, with dark brown boots over them. It looked like normal townspeople clothing, but then... Why was he there?
Gripping his shoulders shakily, the teenager tried to awaken this person. They only trembled under his cold touch, and the man's chest wasn't even rising and falling. Biting his lip, he considered the worst, but told himself to stay calm, even though it was in vain.
Putting his keen ear to the man's chest, he heard a very loud heartbeat, which confused him greatly. The air wasn't leaving his lungs as quickly, and yet his heart was beating as rapid as normal people. Nerves got the best of him, and he dashed about the room, yanking people up, screaming, kicking beds, hitting people, and placing his cold hands over their faces.
Nothing seemed to work, and that's when a light flickered at the end of the hall. He was only a small distance away, but even if he hadn't been he could hear the screech of the door quite clearly. Two people in metallic armor stood in the doorway to freedom, out of this confusing hell.
"What the hell is he doing here?!" One gasped, their accent heavy as they turned to the other for definite answers.
"We need to get him!" He pulled out his sword and charged.
Zidane was dumbfounded for a few moments, before realizing that the guards were indeed after him. Never having experienced it before, he turned and stumbled between the cots, trying to confuse the seemingly stupid guards. Running out the door at the other end of the hall, he tripped and slid behind a large knik in the wall. Breathing heavily, he watched the guards pass and turned around to go back into the room.
Unfortunately, by that time, he could make out glinting silver, and decided to dash down the hall, hoping to find another room.
Where the hell am I? Was only one of the many questions sifting through his mind, but no matter how much he thought, he could not understand. The only place that he had seen that had silver bricks was Alexandria castle. But that was impossible - he wouldn't have been there. It couldn't have been...
Slipping and sliding, his shoes had enough traction to keep him upright as he rounded the corner. Running faster than he ever thought possible, he shot past four guards, who immediately turned to run after him. Picking up the pace, he took a few more twists and turns, getting all the more confused, as the lighting was snuffed out more and more the longer he darted away.
As fast as he ran, he couldn't hear as many things behind him anymore. Shivering slightly, he turned his head, his feet still feverently flying over the brick passage. It was narrow and small, and had the aura of complete eerieness. Then fear struck him as paralyzing and terrifying as ever.
Tumbling backwards, his eyes slowly fixed in on the dark figure sprawled out on the ground. It was short no doubt, but where had it come from? It had been completely silent.
Grabbing a stone from the ground, he menacingly (or so he thought - he was really shaking in fear) stalked forward, ready to beat the thing unconscious. To his surprised, it looked vaguely familiar...
Bright yellow eyes stared up at him in fear, and from the dim lighting, Zidane could see the striped pants and a blue and white jacket. The thing he noticed most was that old tan hat.
Immediately, realization hit, and the blonde dropped the rock, "Hey! You're that mage that I gave the money to to stay at the inn!" Grinning he walked over to him and helped him up.
The mage opened his mouth to say something, but then stopped as footsteps and ominous yells were heard, echoing and bouncing off the walls behind them. At the very max, they could see dim, glittering rays of light shining on the walls. Normally, the light would have enlightened them, but as it began to illuminate the halls, it became one of the most horrifying experiences ever.
Zidane turned and began to speed up, but stopped when no one was following him. Twisting around, he saw the mage frozen in fear. "Hey!" He yelled, in no attempt to be quiet anymore as the guards already knew they were there, "Come on!"
The mage stumbled, but followed him quickly. Trudging forward in a maxiumum speed, they booked it out of there.
Surprisingly enough, the way they ran showed light. But it was a different light... It was more white, instead of the repulsive yellow that held on the torches of the guards. Being momentarily blinded, they did not see a slight group of people about them.
Smacking right into them, the mage and Zidane stumbled backwards, again becoming frozen in fear.
There were four people at the front. One was larger framed with muscles worked up from the past, and armor almost everywhere on his body. He held a long and sturdy sword, something menacing that made Zidane shiver in fright. Then next was a female, and a young one at that. She had chestnut brown hair, and gleaming walnut eyes and the light showed she was beautiful. She wore red pants, no doubt a disguised piece of armor, and a breastplate and gloves. One eye was covered by a headband in her straight hair; it only curled inwards to the extreme at the bottom. She also carried a sword, but it was much more thin, although still strong set.
The next was a redhead. He was slightly short with pale skin, and a leather headband around his eyes. His clothes were much more bandit like, and was almost completely leather. His expression seemed as though it would always be crabby, and next to his waist was a small sheath where a dagger would be kept. Only this guy, who seemed younger than the other two, had two daggers. Ones hilt was tanned and faded, with a red ruby, as red as the seemingly teenager's hair. The other, which he had in his hand now, was a blue hilted dagger with a better build and a sturdier medal, also with a ruby.
And finally, the last looked only a little younger than the redhead next to her. She was extrodinarily beautiful, with long black hair cascading down her back, only clipped at the end so it couldn't fly all over the place. Her eyes were dark and her skin was pale. She had small features, and a petite body fitted into a yellow and white outfit, a crystal necklace around her neck. She bore a staff that had a blue crystal at the top, a specific place in the wood carved out for it. Zidane had to keep his eyes locked on her and the other teenager for a long while.
The man in the armor was about to speak up, his expression angry, but he stopped short as guards came scattering down the hall.
"There they are!" Two guards said at once, on either side of them.
It seemed as though Zidane and the mage, and this other group of four were both running away from guards. In that matter, they would both clash into each other, entrapping themselves with others they did not know.
"We must fight together... We both have our enemies..." The man in the armor who was about to speak to the two who had run into them decided on something different. "Stay together, please, and we shall sort things out as we go along!"
Reluctantly, the redhead tossed the tan hilted dagger at Zidane, who just barely caught it. He was about to state that the mage didn't have a weapon, and he didn't even know how to use his, but he kept his mouth clamped tight. He didn't need these guards knowing just how weak he was - not at the moment.
Suddenly, a large burst of fire errupted from beside him, and everyone watched in slight amazement as the mage blew a fireball at the guard, lighting him on a quick fire, making him scream and writher until the fire slowly began to die down. This created an aroma of angry silence, as the guards charged on the small group of six. It was hardly a fair fight to the guards, as the blonde soon came to find that these people they were with were acceptionally fast.
Zidane, looking immediately to the one with the dagger, widened his eyes at the exact skill. He moved as a blur around the guard, hitting him in the helmet with the hilt of the dagger, the metal ringing in the man's ears, causing him to momentarily faulter. As he was distracted, the redhead swung his leg up and kicked the man down on his back. When he was completely on the ground, he slit the dagger across the back of the man's neck, killing him instantly.
Quick and painless... Mercy but no mercy... He raised an eyebrow at the familiarity flooding back through his mind. He just couldn't pin point who this guy was.
His stupid sort attention span caught him offguard when a guard hit him in the back of the head with the hilt of his sword. Falling forward, his vision blurred as he saw the soldier being struck down by the hazelnut haired woman rather rapidly. A bright light glowed and swirled around him as the black haired girl cast a cure spell.
He was momentarily baffled. He had heard about cure spells, but never heard of someone who could have possibly completed one. It was a bounch of hog wash in his opinion, but this... Was real. Getting up, he thought he'd repay his new friend, who was frozen in fear by two guards by whipping his own weapon at one's back.
The black mage yelped as the man fell ontop of him, but he managed to squirm his way out before an axe hashed through the other man, already dead, in an attempt to kill the little guy. Quickly moving to the little one's aid, the man with the broadsword stopped the axe from swinging down again.
Pushing his weight against his weapon, he threw back the taller and bulkier guy. Then, since his sword was longer than the other weapon, he slashed the air, cutting the guy's armor until it flung off. At that time, the sword was plunged through the man's stomach, and the axe abruptly hit the floor with a loud crash.
They had cleared one path, but it was the same way the four people had come. Only taking one glance at each other, they bolted out, until the redhead stumbled to a stop. Turning around quickly, his expression unreadable, he extended a hand to motion the two of them.
"Are you coming?" He voice was brisk and quick, but it was low and clear.
Zidane jumped to his feet and helped the back mage up, and they all ran out of there, while guards proceeded in a failed attempt to make them stop.
The walls finally ended as a gate was swung open. Looking around widly, the brunette woman dashed to the edge of the water, her combat boots getting completely drenched. She yanked a boat out of a hidden place, and ushered everyone towards her.
Willingly enough, the two of them followed the four strangers towards the boat and unsteadily got on. It was quite crowded, but that's not what had the two in a jumble.
The world was so different, and they couldn't quite believe it. It had been so surreal, like a dream. No... Zidane could almost laugh at the irony... It wasn't a dream - it was a nightmare.
As he glanced around the uprooted plants that surrounded the waters, and the bricks of the buildings crumbled seemingly at a touch.
The moments that passed were filled with a quiet silence, although his head was screaming.
Where the hell are we?
??
A/N: Well... They meet some interesting people huh? I bet you all can guess who in the world those people are haha.
I hope you all enjoyed, and I really hope that you guys liked it enough to keep going :D More questions will be answered next chapter, or the chapter after that, because everything eventually gets explained. Please
REVIEW
And keep reading!
-zesty-
