Filling In The Blanks
A/N: Okay it's been a while, but I'm still going :)
Disclaimer: I still don't own Final Fantasy 9. Maybe it'd be better if I just let you know if I ever do :D
Chapter 24: Taking Leadership
"Finally! For once something we're good at!" Marcus laughed horsely, too much smoke being inhaled from Dagger's latest blast. Everyone was at the observatory, hustling about trying to find everyone that they cared so dearly about, attempting to be calm when everything was in disarray.
Their numbers had been cut in half... at least and their loss was much more than the loss of the ambush who had attacked their previous hideout with little to no warning. The only plus side was that now they fit onto two ships, and though it was a little crammed, they'd be able to make it out if no spells were shot at them, or worse... The fight took flight... Kuja had resources... A shitload of resources... And perhaps maybe he had hidden airships he never had to use... And therefore, unfortunately, he could follow if the one last standing resistance could be crushed.
But, they would only take airship if it was quickly decided... No one knew what was going to happen - it was only Marcus who thought that they should fly - no one else had the organized mind to think of it yet.
"Dagger! Dagger!" Cid was yelling and shoving, in an attempt to find his niece. He was so scared - he shouldn't have left her, but in the crowd of people he had no choice but to move to help everyone, instead of just the girl. This was the first time in some time that people had seen Cid with an emotion other than happiness or clear of any feeling at all. Their was worry in his eye, and though not much of his mood was showing, everyone could easily tell he was in a panic.
Screaming began on the outer skirts of the observatory and more people pressed outward to know what was going on. The army stumbled through the smoke, half attempting to get to fresh air, and half wishing to persue whoever fled and shoot them down, friend or foe.
A decision needed to be made quickly, and Cid was just about to return to his quest before a magic spell caused a booming voice to beh eard from down the hill and closer to Dali.
"Resistance! We know where you are! You have no where to go! Step down now, and we will not be forced to take severe actions!" When there was almost silence as a reply, no one still able to see them because of the smoke and natural lump in the ground, the voice boomed again.
"Garnet til Alexandros 17th!"
Everyone gasped, and that's when the members that knew Dagger was actually Garnet held their breath.
"We know who you are! You cannot hide! We know that you are the leader of this resistance, and these are your pitiful subjects... Surrender now, and we won't kill them!"
People began to mumble and look around, wondering who it could be...
In the end, it was Dagger, short, raven hair, and eyes that showed no fear, betraying what she felt all over the rest of her body, glistening with bravery. "Listen up!" She yelled, sitting on the shoulders of Marcus who had helped fuel her already boiling plans to flee by airship.
Everyone gasped, including Cid, at seeing the girl. Baku and Zidane were just coming to, along with a few other people who had been knocked out and dragged away by stragglers fortunate enough not to get shot down by arrows and spells alike.
"We cannot fix what has already happened!" She boomed over everyone, trying to make her own confidence sound convincing though she was sure everyone had more than she at that moment in time. "We cannot undo their findings of our our headquarters - our protection... our home!"
Her powerful words caught everyone's attention, and not even the people on the very outer edge of the group were paying attention to the soldiers not so far away.
"We must move forward, and if we cannot protect our location or supplies, we must protect each other! I know that what happened back there was tough, but now it's over! We're still here! I know that some of you, who look around and don't see your friends are hurting," she herself couldn't find Steiner or Beatrix anywhere, "But you must understand that there will be time to grieve... The people we have lost want us to be safe! They gave their lives so we could live, though we were all trying to flee. They would want us to find safety first! It is a vow in being in this resistance!"
Though it didn't seem like it on the outside, everyone was at least a little moved by her words, and comforted to a certain extent, though not as much as she wished - it was a start.
"I have a plan!" People were amazed... "They know now what we consist of! They know now that our numbers were great, but they also know now that we have been tremendously hurt by this attack. They know that we possess two of their dreamers... They know that also Princess Garnet is with us, and maybe even worse - the summons along with her...! I know that most of you look to her, though I know that you think she died long ago, as a symbol of hope... Well please, allow me to keep being that symbol of hope... I have to say I must apologize from keeping my identity from you - but it was for the safety of all of us! For Alexandria, Bermecia, and Lindblum!"
Dissaray and chatter began to flow again like an angry river just thawing after winter, loaded with unwanted bits and pieces of what the season left behind from excess water, to disgusting and half rotting plants and trees.
"I am Princess Garnet til Alexandros 17th, heir to the throne of Alexandria. Though I am thought to be a beacon of hope - I am no different than your resistance leader! This should make it even more apparent that I fight for a cause so important, though no greater than anyone else's... As your leader, and as that hope, I plead for you to listen to me!"
Instantaniously, everyone stopped talking, hoping that she would get them out of there... They wanted to believe any comfort they could at the moment.
"We are going to take the airships! Though supplies are lost, we will just have to start over! Think about thirteen years ago when the founders of this organization had to start the resistance - it was tough, but it grew into something powerful and beautiful! Please, I beg of you, trust me! The airships will fit all of us! I know that it might be rough, but they will get us out of here safely. If Kuja has airships, it'll take time for him to be able to launch after us. By that time, I am hoping that we're going to be long gone! We have to make haste if we want this plan to work! Tantalus crew, split up! Your crew has the best work with airships, and I want it cut in half so we can all depend on the people who know the ships the very best! Baku, please be on one ship, though don't fly, have Marcus do it. And Regent Cid - please, on the other... You created the ships, I know you can fly them, and I wish for us to have a safe journey out. Head North! Though we don't know what we'll find in the forgotten lands, we'll have to trust that anything, and I mean anything is better than here! Now move out!" A loud cheer errupted, and everyone scattered, naturally dividing in half.
The theater ship, Prima Vista, held a healthy chunk of people - that's the ship Marcus and Baku would be commanding. The other, Hilda III, was much more advanced, but still in testing stages. Everyone hoped it would be okay, especially with Cid driving and controlling it.
Dagger tried to look past all the stares and awe-struck looks between her hair being gone, and it finally coming out of the bag that she was Garnet, to discover the people she wanted to see. She hoped Zidane was around somewhere, and wouldn't be mad at her, and that Beatrix and Steiner would be there to support her, but as she boarded the ship with her uncle she didn't see any of them. Turning away dejected, she wondered now that the plan was in action and she couldn't do anything more to help, how many people were lost. That's when she had an idea that she would try and find everyone, to see their loss...
Turning her back on her uncle, high in concentration with a lucky survivor, a young girl from Lindblum who escaped the city just a month ago, and never left his side when it came to airships, she pushed open the door to somewhere other than the deck. People actually found a clever way to spread themselves out on the spacious Hilda III, but there still wasn't a lot of room. She shuffled around the corridor, making sure to check the face of every person in the room, to see if they were who she wanted them to be. If not, she still made sure they were alright, and even answered a few questions for some people who didn't seem to be angry.
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Freya sat on the deck of the Prima Vista, legs dangling over the edge of the wooden vehicle, as she watched the ground angerly. They were leaving. That she was okay with... What she wasn't okay with? The whole resistance moved except for Sir Fratley and the King. There were no brave souls who would be able to aid them incase something went wrong. What if Freya never got back to them? What if she never got back to him...
She wasn't much of an emotional person, but as she watched the last of Alexandria that she would see in a long time swoosh past her, unreachable, though she wasn't sure she wanted to walk upon the terrain, Freya Crescent watched sparkling tears fall onto her long, nimble hands.
She tipped her hat out of her eyes so she could scrub at them, willing herself to be strong. Sometimes though, there was a limit that she had just broken, and things were too much.
The whole stupid war - though it had been going on for ages and ages, and many more million years to come, she was so sick of it, and the turn of events that had happened was unfortunate. She cursed Fratley for once in her life, for being more dedicated to being a knight, than to being hers, and for that she shamed herself. She didn't want to feel that way, but she couldn't help herself - not when she realized she might never see him ever again.
Or perhaps if he didn't believe that Freya was so strong, and as dedicated as he was... If he didn't insist that she was, he might have allowed her to stay with him in Bermecia even when things went down the hole. She never once considered that he dismissed her from the city so that he could protect her, and even though that was true, still to that day Freya did not know it.
The only thing she had knowledge of was how much she wanted to see him. She actually almost wanted to jump.
The door opened behind her, and not being so hasty as to fall, she tipped her hat back down over her misted eyes, to shield her miserable feelings from the rest of the resistance - they didn't need that at the moment.
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"There's a message in from Hilda III."
"Well! What are you waiting for! Answer it you dumbshit!"
Blank scampered over to the button and hit it as swift as he could, the image of Cid and the girl known as Shelly popped up on the screen, but the main focus was Dagger.
"Blank..." Dagger smiled, though he couldn't tell through the glitches.
"What's wrong Dagger, is there trouble?"
"I was actually wondering if you could report to me who all is on your ship, I would like to see who we're missing..." She turned away, and he could tell she was in distress, so the only thing he could do is nod.
"Who are you looking for specifically, Dagger, it'll be easier to tell when we're all together again, but I'll look and see if they're on the ship..."
"Steiner, Beatrix, and -" she felt stupid saying it in front of everyone on the ship, and her cheeks went bright red, "Zidane..." A few people chuckled and whistled, "And Vivi too!" She hastily insisted to try and cover her tracks. But the damage was done - even Vivi let out a small laugh.
"Well Zidane is here for sure, so is Vivi... Hey look! The little guy is laughing at you Dagger! You don't have anymore friends," He smiled, in an attempt to make everyone listening feel a little lighter about the situation. "I'll check on Beatrix and Steiner, then get back to you!" He winked and pressed off after she waved good-bye.
"Hope you can handle everything -"
"Shut up." Baku ordered simply in his gruff, angry voice. Blank rolled his eyes and wondered away, ready to scout out the whole ship.
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The moon set its light, causing the normally white clouds to shine silver. The stars twinkled, giving a dim illumination through the windows of the ships. Though there were no crickets, grass whispering in the night, or water trickling down a small stream, steming over rocks and such in its path, everyone felt a small breeze, and much was quiet, except the occassional puffing noise they would hear from passing through a cloud - but that was extremely faint and not many heard it at all... Nevertheless it was a relaxing sound.
Beatrix, who had found Blank after numerous people said Dagger was looking for him, and insisted that they weren't looking everywhere in the ships for the missing people, and that's what everyone wanted to believe - so they did for the itme being. Once it was time to get off the ship, everyone would really know who was gone...
But then they thought of something else. How long would they be on the ship.
There wasn't all that much supplies, and people were already hungry and tired, wishing for nothing more than endless water. It wasn't as though they had it before, but they wanted nothing more than to have it, and the thought of it just made all the inhabitants of the ship cranky and weary of the ride.
Their wondrous ride, starting as a new adventure, was getting old extremely fast, and as the flight moved towards the earlier hours of the morning before the sun - four or five o'clock - everyone was tired of sitting around - they were restless and some considered jumping off the edge of the ship just for fun.
Even if no one would actually do that, it worried every sane person on the ship... How strong was their bond together when there was no danger present, and no sense of hiding on a dumb ship, not able to move away from the people they're with and get alone time, and no food or water basically on either ship. How long would they last before everyone snapped and completely ripped each other apart, verbally and possibly even physically as well.
The question is what haunted almost everyone as they tried to control their own tempers.
Cinna jogged over to Freya, so still sat in the same spot, not wishing to sleep when so much was on her mind. Persperation was forming on his forehead for the five second job, even if the night was brisk and not at all warm. A lot of people had moved to the outside, but nearly no one was sleeping.
"Hey Freya -"
"No..." She put out a hand, coming in contact with his face and shoved him back, making him fall over and roll back, bowling someone over.
Grumbles arose, and everyone began to blame Cinna for everything, because he was the only person who had done something wrong, and the only person that should get any sort of blame - so that's where it all went. Irritated with the Bermecian, he shoved past a few people and went right back inside.
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Quina cocked his head to the side. It went this way and that, and the few people watching him mimicked him out of pure habit. It was so fun to watch the Qu doing whatever he was doing, even if his motives weren't all that clear. There he sat, in front of a crate, his tongue hanging out, drool dangling off the end as he flopped his head to the left. The tongue danced in that direction, still wagging back and forth. Then he'd flip his head to the right, and his tongue would swing in that direction too.
There were only a couple people watching him, but as soon as they blinked, Quina suddenly attacked the crate, easily stabbing through it with his fork and such before random bags of chips and peanuts fell out. It must have been a theater ship sort of thing.
People in the room cheered and grabbed a bag, while Quina shoved two into his hat. They let him get away with it since he found it, and then they picked up the rest, ready to bring a package to however many more people they could find on the theater ship.
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Vivi sat uncomfortably on Hilda III. He didn't really want to talk to anyone - the only person he would be interested in speaking to was Zidane, but he was on the other ship. He wanted some explination in a way that he would understand, about what happened, but he knew that he wouldn't get that until he had Zidane without anyone else round.
Closing his eyes once more, he huddled closer to the corner he was in, trying to sleep on the wooden floor. It wasn't as though it was uncomfortable, but the images of all of the people he had known and started to call friend who had been shot down so close to him he could have reached out and touched them was disturbing. He didn't want to sleep, and he didn't want to look for comfort from anyone - they had their own stuff going on at the moment.
As he tried to close his eyes again, vivid images of the blood of one man splattering onto the wood in front of Vivi's shoes from his mouth, an arrow had shot him through the neck. The crimson had bubbled and foamed in his mouth, creating what looked like a red drink that the man forgot to swallow. Vivi backed away, absolutely stunned, because the man didn't die right away. He twitched and struggled on the ground, sliding the arrow back and forth in a desperate attempt to get it out, before only moment later, he fell still.
Vivi oculdn't move for a while, before finally Ruby had pulled him up and moved him. She sat with him for a few moments, rocking back and forth at almost a peaceful and shy rate. His eyes wondered over her movements in wonder. How could a girl be so unphased by what had happened - it completely befuddled him.
"I know what ya'll must be thinkin'." She said finally, not even looking at the black mage sitting next to her.
A short silence elapsed before she spoke again, with a slight chuckle in her voice, "It's funny... Black mages bein' the very things we just run away from... and yet, here I am, sittin' talkin' to one 'bout what's gone and happened..."
Vivi looked down miserably to the floor. It seemed to spin underneath him - she had come to blame him for what had happened?
"I know you must be hurtin'... Like ya'll think it's yer fault... You and Zidane kinda... But the truth is Vivi, that it's not neither one of yer faults. They were boundin' to find us anyways... The rabbit in a trap is always hunted... Like my Papa used to tell me before I left! Ya'll, specially you since you didn't do diddly squat - Zidane mighta played more a part than you, but you got nothin' to worry 'bout! You should be thinkin' instead about how you can help other people! That's what a resistance is, ain't it?"
"I don't know how..." He answered in a small, timid voice, as though whatever he said would make or break a relationship with the girl.
She could only smile, "I came here to thank you."
"What?"
"Back there - in Dali... You iced them perverts tryin' to get sweet on me... You stopped 'em dead in their tracks... and fer that I gotta thank you!"
"Well... I guess you're welcome then."
"That's helpin' people, Vivi. Doin' them good things yer conscious is tellin' you..." She smiled and stood, "Ya'll don't go blamin' yerselves - specially you Vivi..." She smiled and kissed the brim of his hat before winking, "Yer doin' a mighty fine job helpin' people, simply by not bein' under Kuja's control anymore!"
With that she almost danced away, as though part of a secret ballet - life as her stage. He smiled and leaned against the wall, slowly slipping into a semi-relaxing sleep - something he had needed for a long while.
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"You look drained... Lemme take over..."
Marcus let out a giant yawn, falling back and allowing the Genome to take the wheel. He watched as Zidane went into his normal habits - just like he used to have - though just with an older touch of them for the few times he had taken it out driving since he'd been back.
"Baku is out!"
Zidane chuckled, "You should be too... I'm not all too sure where I'm going..."
"It doesn't matter. Just follow Hilda III. If you can't see it just keep heading due north... Eventually we'll hit something that makes us want to stop..." He yawned once more and sprawled out on the wooden floor, closing his eyes.
"Got'cha..." He trailed, and stood in silence for a while, directing the ship wherever it needed to go. Turn the wheel when it needed to be turned, and fly straight when it needed to be flown straight.
"Hey Zidane?" Marcus questioned, hoping for a reply even after the five minute silence.
"Yeah?" He answered, not bothering to glance back.
"What do you think..."
"What do you mean?" He cocked his head to the side, though still didn't look at his team mate.
Marcus watched as he asked his blonde friend questions, the clouds puffing and whipsing past them, and he wondered where they would land. The ship was almost silent, full of too many people who had prolonged sleep far too long, and needed some serious shut eye.
"About Dagger..." He mumbled, staring a hole through the back of Zidane's head.
The blonde was silent for sometime, watching the clouds and early morning light whiz past them in an almost peaceful, serene way. His arms moved slightly left and right, trying to keep the ship straight, and to ensure a smooth flight for all of his passengers.
He was about to answer when a startling beep echoed throughout the control center of the room. Both of them jumped and Marcus slammed the button to recieve the message immediately. Instead of Dagger, Cid was on the screen this time and he was grinning ear to ear.
"We've done it! We're at a wonderful location! Get ready to land immediately!"
Zidane glanced back at Marcus, and they smirked. Their flight had gone flawless, but as Marcus ran off to spread the news, a gnawing feeling began to eating away at Zidane's stomach...
The flight was perfect sure, but what was to come?
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A/N: Okay, so not the most amazing chapter, but next chapter should be good. Where are they? Huh? Huh? :D Hope you enjoyed! Oh by the way - there might be confusion on how I say one person is one one ship, then I say that they're on the other ship too - just ignore it please :) there was no way I could work it out quite right :)
Review!
-zesty-
