Filling In The Blanks
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 or any of its characters.
Chapter 41: The Great Game
"Where is Elouise?"
To that, Kuja smiled, taking another step forward.
Zidane waited for an answer, heart beating in his throat. That smirk on the bastard's face said everything… The blonde didn't need to wait for an answer.
"What did you do with her?" He demanded, eyes fierce as he shot forward.
His body moved without his mind as he charged towards Kuja, breaking rubble under his feet, fire in his eyes as he charged. Rain slowly began to patter the city, and Kuja glanced up to watch the drops begin to pour down.
Zidane never even noticed the rain, evaporating as soon as it hit his hot skin as he continued to run. As he closed the distance between them, Elouise's face flashed through his mind, the dreams he'd had about her asking for help, the fire in his heart when he learned she'd killed everyone in his dreams…
But pain washed over him when he remembered her smile, bewildered anger when he was being a dumb ass, and the concerned look that had washed over her beautiful porcelain face when he had seen her, that last day in the dream Alexandria.
He glared back tears as he finally reached Kuja, blowing the back of his knife into the man's stomach. He had partially dodged, so the blow wasn't as big, but he flew back, though landing on his feet.
His eyes narrowed now too, the red above them seeming all the more menacing. He flipped his hair over his shoulders and shook his head, "Show me your fear… Show me your anger and hurt…" He smirked, eyes flickering with taunt.
Zidane charged once more, screaming as he blindly slashed through the air with his dagger. Easily, Kuja dodged his rage, grin growing all the wider, the faster the thief began to breathe.
"Where is she? What did you tell her?" He demanded, continuously swiping at the man.
"What's he doing?" This time, it was Baku who hissed, watching along with his wide-eyed team at the normally cool and collected Zidane, kind hearted and outgoing, quickly tire from his air battle with Kuja. He was huffing and puffing, eyes glimmering, hair flying rapidly around him, and his movements sloppy and unstable.
Blank watched as fury overtook his best friend, emotions running wilder than he had ever seen in his life. A few times he heard yells of 'where's Elouise', but Blank hadn't heard the rest of the conversation… He had no idea what Zidane was screaming about.
As they pushed back towards the soldiers, each one just wishing they could lash out and capture Zidane at that moment, something clicked in Cinna's brain.
"Guys, this is our chance… We go now, or possibly not get another chance…"
They glanced at each other. Carry out their mission, or keep an eye on their friend's life. What could they do?
As they contemplated, Kuja kept side stepping Zidane's attacks, but he began to get bored – the blonde's persistence irritating him. With one quick swipe, an ice attack slammed into Zidane's chest, causing him to fall to the ground, tripping over piles of jagged rocks.
His being ached as he lay upon the ground, staring up at the sky and for the first time noticing the rain. The drops hit him, causing him to blink when they got too close to his eyes. He watched the grey clouds roll over them, unconcerned with what was going on beneath them. The soldiers were silent, more focused on the fight than the wellbeing of anyone, and he wondered for a moment where the rest of his team was.
That's when it hit him. He replayed the fight so far in his mind, and realized that getting angry wasn't going to help anything. Saving Elouise from this man was important, no doubt, but he had other responsibilities too. He had to start thinking smart.
Leaning back on his shoulders and hands, he flung his legs and jumped up, tail catching the hilt of his dagger and tossing it back into his hands. He growled, and charged forward, playing into Kuja's game, but knowingly doing so.
The man threw a fireball towards the Genome, but he flattened himself against the ground, blowing air from his mouth into the dirt. When he saw his breath, he realized an ice attack was coming, and leapt as far as he could in the air. With as much adrenaline that was rushing through his body, he hung suspended for a few moments, legs dangling beneath him in an attempt to find solid ground.
He slammed hard into a pile that probably used to be a wall, and glanced up, only to be struck with waterga spell. He gulped in breath and swam through it, throwing himself out and latching onto Kuja.
He wrestled around with the man for a moment, before they fell to the ground and began to wrestle and roll. A rise flew up from the soldiers and fell again as they shuffled to get closer. Some of them didn't even like Kuja – some didn't even care who won… And some, surprisingly enough (and probably captured a long time ago) hoped for Zidane's victory.
"I want to know what you did with Elouise…"
"Even if you did find her –" Kuja began, shoving the blonde up and off, and sprouting magic to push him back, creating distance, "- she would hate you for what you and your foul allegiance did to Alexandria!"
Something inside Zidane flickered then. He was still calm – aware of what he was doing, and not seeing red. But this was different. Pent up energy seemed to leak through his veins, and he seemed to breathe power. Glancing down at his hands, he saw a purplish glow emitting from his arm. Shifting his eyes, he saw his own shock mirrored in Kuja, and he heard gasps from the soldiers behind them.
Zidane's rage triggered something, and that something was giving him the energy to move forward. Breaking into a run, he barely saw things moving at a blur beside him. Gasping at his own strength, his body moved quicker than his mind and threw the dagger at an unsuspecting Kuja. With near perfect accuracy, it sliced his side, crimson red pooling on his fair skin.
His eyes broke from Zidane and looked down at his own skin. He curiously touched his side, as though he'd never seen blood fall from his own body before. The blonde looked just as surprised, but covered faster as he raced forward in an attempt to swipe down the man once more.
His breath felt clean, despite the situation, as the air rushed past him, exhilaration blasting him forward. Slamming into Kuja, they both flew backwards. As Zidane's left shoulder skidded across the pavement, they hit a pile of trash and flipped, Kuja's back rubbing against the hard ground now.
Wrestling for a few moments, the older man threw a thrashing Zidane off of him, who easily landed on his feet. Before Kuja had any time to move, Zidane was summoning up power, eyes glowing almost so brightly he could no longer see the blue hue around his dilated pupils.
And then it happened. The orb of raw power and emotion built up in Zidane's unwavering hands was blasted, and Kuja's eyes lit up due to the brilliance of the attack, before he was thrown backwards. A hasty shield was thrown in front of him, though it couldn't absorb all of the impact.
As he landed back on the ground, his body flinched in protest to heavy movement. Okay, he was getting bored… It was time to snuff out the light this dreamer was creating, permanently.
His clothing began to ruffle, and his hair lifted off the small of his back, shoulder blades, and eventually neck. Grinning like a mad man, Kuja built up his own power (though more like a spell and less raw) and threw it at Zidane.
The blonde was tired, not understanding where all of that energy had come from. He'd lost the magenta hue around him, and was currently struggling to stay upright as the energy blasted into him. With a yell, he was thrown backwards, landing hard on his back, and cracking his head on a pile of rocks.
He felt warm in his hair, and putting a hand to his head and pulling it away confirmed the fact that he was bleeding heavily. Even as he wobbly stood up, a pool of blood had started on the concrete-like mixture.
A freezing ice spell was shot towards him, and it spread its tendrils up his leg like hot breath chased away frost on a chilled window.
Painfully, it froze him to the spot, no matter how much he tugged at his leg. It seemed to only painfully twist his knee, to the point where he had to stop in fear of snapping his limb completely off.
"You think that power would stay?" Kuja spat on the ground, and Zidane's panic surfaced truly, for the first time since learning he might die. "You entered a trance, Zidane Tribal… and you had absolutely no idea how to use it!"
Trance? What the fuck is that? He wondered as he tried to slither out of this horrid situation. He glanced at his surroundings, wondering if his friends were to be his guardian angels today. As fire licked at his bruised arm, he truly doubted the ladder.
Kuja's insane laugh filled the sky. Though Zidane's life could end here, he understood exactly why it was ending. Normally, this enemy was always – and he really meant always – cool, calm, and collected… Zidane's strike that first drew blood – maybe in the man's entire life – had scared him. Someone had the power to prove he wasn't immortal, and he knew he'd have to rid the world of that proof.
"You were a fool to come here alone!" At least he didn't know about the other Tantalus members, "Why you thought bringing me here only to kill you was a wise decision is beyond my knowledge completely!"
"That's why…" Zidane nodded his head forward, a smirk planted on his lips. The man's eyes widened as he whipped around, robe around his waist softly hitting his legs on the spin.
With hair fallen over his shoulder, he slowly, and agonizingly looked up, shock (and maybe a little amazement) sweeping over his features.
There, moving into the sky, was the Invincible, its rich designs slowly pulling into the air. Zidane's face seemed to bright upon seeing it, as it easily floated above the buildings, out of the reach of any of the soldier's weapons.
Kuja's eyes seemed to flash red, "What?" He bellowed, whipping around to Zidane.
"I guess I'm wiser than you thought, you know… since I didn't come alone." He knew that comment would probably cost him his life, but he figured since he was already dead, why not just speed up the process. The mission was complete, and that's all the blonde cared about.
Suddenly, Kuja's hand was around his throat, so-cold-it-felt-hot pins were pricking Zidane in his neck as the man's hand tightened his hold.
"You are nothing but a war tool…" He spat, and Zidane glanced down as it hit his shoe. Suddenly, a fist slammed into his face, and he fell over, leg making a sickening snap. After that, the ice quickly melted, fire blazing around them. Where it came from, the blonde wasn't sure in his dazed state, but his eyes watered as pain stung every inch of his body.
"You are nothing to anyone… Especially not the girl you once knew… The petite blonde one – she is a fine young woman!" Zidane's vision swam. One fire suddenly became a whole eyeful, and one Kuja suddenly became multiple. His pain seemed not to come from only his snapped (he figured) leg, but all over his body as the fire hissed and would touch him sometimes, as though taunting him – playing with him.
"And you are especially nothing to that Princess of yours…" He kicked at Zidane then, and soon, the fire wasn't as bright anymore, the world dimming around him.
This is it… I'm going to die…
The fate sunk in as time seemed to move in slow motion. He saw Kuja's lips move, but could not make out the words. Slowly, he came to accept it, as he watched the ship fly above them…
But he would have rather liked to see all of his friends again, even if it was just one last time…
?
"Are you sure we should completely leave him? That fight looks like it was about to get angry!"
No one answered him, and Cinna found himself glancing backwards, truly wondering if he was really needed to fly the ship. He face palmed – wishing more people knew how to fly those damned things so he could go back and check on the blonde.
"It won't take long…" But no one seemed to be sure.
The last thing they saw with their friend was that he was taking aimless swings at his enemy, not using any of the skill he'd acquired since he'd come back to them – or even before he'd returned as well.
Blank gnawed his lip as they raced forward. Now that all of the guards were occupied with the fight, and they were no longer in plain sight before the whole army, they could run freely, as long as they didn't make too much noise.
Kuja wasn't dumb, however, just not prepared. He left a few guards with the ship – a safety precaution and nothing else… Though there were enough to halt an unconcerned civilian in their tracks, there wasn't enough to stop Tantalus from crashing their party.
Cleverly, Blank (being the smallest), and Marcus (being the most stealthy) rolled across the street, landing on the other side of the wall, and poking their heads out to watch for any movement.
Though it didn't seem like much of a threat was inside, they had to be careful…
That reminded Blank – Marcus still hadn't informed them of his plans to rescue Zidane. He flinched as he heard a noise from further back – rubble crashing violently into each other. He prayed the blonde was okay – they needed to get back there as soon as possible.
Suddenly, with a flying dagger (Zenero's specialty), one guard was silently taken out, his yelp slashed into a gurgle before it could provoke attention.
Unfortunately, his crash to the floor was a bit less graceful, and all other guards whipped around, their hair standing up, nerves on edge. When they saw a whole bandit group emerge from seemingly the walls before them, they immediately lost it.
Some surrendered immediately, but others tried to fight, only to get easily shot down. Soon, everyone was unconscious on the ground – Tantalus not speaking a word to each other.
"Come on! This way!" Cinna was the first to shatter the silence, and coaxed them onto the ship as they suddenly pounded their way down the corridors. It was spacious, but easy to get lost if they weren't careful.
"Where are you leading us!" Baku panted, far behind the fast sprinters of the group.
"We're going to the control center, and getting out of here before Kuja suspects this as a trap!"
"Before Zidane gets killed…" Blank didn't forget to add that in subtly.
They all stopped short, slamming a hand over Cinna's mouth when he was about to speak. In the control center, a hefty amount of guards were all laughing over a drink. They didn't seem to be the normal sky-monkey guards that were down below…
These were Alexandrian soldiers. Blank caught a glimpse of a general's cloak, and knew this must be some elite group that decided not to go out with the thugs of the army. "What do we do?" He whispered harshly.
Suddenly, Marcus glanced at Ruby and a sly smirk came onto his face. Blank narrowed his eyes – he just didn't like that look. "You love to act Rube, right?"
She smirked, "What can I assist you with?"
"Go in there and charm those boys…" Blank had to restrain himself from letting a snarl rip from his throat. "Get them close enough in the hall so we can easily pick all of them off at once, okay?"
"Got it!" She nodded determinedly, and stumbled out into the open.
Immediately, though the boys couldn't see it, swords were drawn. "Who the hell are you?" Someone demanded.
"Why, I was stumblin' back home after that play…" It made sense that people might travel from the continent that Terra was so close to for a play – luckily she was in the attire to fit the part. "I was only tryin' to find my way," She panted, eyes going large, as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. She made a point to let her sleeve fall, and slowly put it back up, covering the small portion of her bra that was peeking out.
She shook her head tiredly, "But these nasty men started chasin' me, faster than a hare tryin' to taunt that tortoise!"
"What are you doing in here then?" He commanded gruffly.
"Once they saw me a'comin', they started runnin' and I took flight like a startled chocobo! Please won't you fine gentleman help a lady out…" She ushered towards the door, a distressed look swiping over her, "I've just got to find my way back out – I hoped going further in would help me to find someone! I just wanted to get home and find my baby darlin'… He was sick, but my honey still wanted me to go to that forsaken play! I was so worried I had to head home to check on him!"
The one bearing the general's cape sighed frustrated, but it seemed he couldn't resist Ruby's charm.
"What's your name?"
"Charlotte, sir."
"Well, Charlotte," even though it wasn't her real name, none of the Tantalus liked the way Ruby's alias rolled off his tongue. "Come along, we'll help you…"
"Oh thank you!" She pranced from the room, though cautiously, as though she didn't know what was coming for her.
She passed the boys without as much as a stiffen, and slowly, the soldiers emerged as well. Simultaneously, they were knocked by hilts of daggers, and all seemed to make the same noise as they hit the floor. The sound of their armor clattered off the walls, and Zenero had to cover his sensitive ears to stop the sound from deafening him.
Ruby glanced back at the men on the ground, "I sure am glad that wasn't actually happenin'!" Blank smiled and pulled her gently forward, though she did notice he never made a point to drop her hand until they were at their control stations.
"Is this thing already ready to fly?" Marcus said, glancing up, dark eyes bright now, in the midst of planning an escape.
"All we need to do is start it – but who knows how loud it might be." Cinna began flipping things on and off, Baku mirroring his movements at a station nearby.
"At this point, it doesn't really matter," Their leader said with a nod of his head.
The redhead ran to the window, trying to scan the area in hopes of finding the battle. Through the tall buildings, giant crystals and mushrooms, and perhaps a tree or two, he could barely make out small dots moving about in a rapid motion. Though above it all, he could see a fire flicking, and frost shooting up from the ground, but the intricate style of the city blocked much else.
"We need to get moving…" Blank's eyes filled with worry as he turned towards Marcus, now about to ask what was going to happen, "What's the plan?"
The taller thief stood looking straight forward, wondering if he should answer the redhead. He'd never had a plan to save Zidane, but he had hoped that the blonde could hold on long enough for them to catch him on their way out. Either way – he would be damned if he let Kuja get the body.
"We're going to swoop in and take him out of the fight… dead or alive…"
Ruby latched onto Blank's arm. He thought for a moment she was scared, but would later realize it was to stop his swaying, in fear of him tipping over… they needed him right now.
"Engine is ready!" Cinna called over his shoulder, fiddling around with a few knobs and buttons. Baku gripped the steering wheel, knuckles turning white under his gloves.
"Alright boys, are you ready for this?"
"Ready as we'll ever be…" Marcus steadied himself as the ship slowly began to move, "We'll need to be down by the doors – everyone who doesn't need to be here to fly the ship…"
He lead Blank, Zenero, and Ruby out into the corridor. Cinna turned to their boss, and glanced at him with wavering eyes, "Do you think that Zidane is still alive?"
A hard look crossed over Baku's face, and he was quiet as they rose fully into the air. He could imagine the face of Kuja and his army as their own airship flew above them. "No…"
The thief turned back towards his controls without another word…
?
They swept over the city quickly, the doors slowly folding into themselves as the ones at the control center opened the door. The four that were there clutched the edges, making sure they didn't fall out. Wind shot through in huge gusts, and as they hovered above the ground, trying to get close, they saw the far away reactions of their doings.
Most men stood, stupefied to the spot, unsure of exactly what was going on. Kuja was hovering over the ground, quaking with rage, and had yet to see his ship fly above. They saw Zidane on the ground, blood pooling around him, fire licking at his battered body, and ice being shot at him from the demon above.
Ruby aimed as Blank grabbed her waist, and shot a hasty firega spell at Kuja. It hit him square in the back, and astonished, he whipped around, rage fueling his motives.
But that fury seemed to evaporate (only for a moment, before coming back twenty times stronger), and his jaw slackened, eyes going wide as he saw the ship, and who was commanding it. A foul shriek escaped the grounds, amplified by magic, shattering windows to the precious city.
His fire and ice vanished from around the Genome, and he sprinted, trying to get as close to the ship as possible.
"It doesn't look good!" Zenero spoke, eyes large with concern, "He's not moving."
"We need to get in there and get him fast!" Marcus commanded, signaling for Ruby to fire another shot.
It was weak magic, but it would have to do, and they hoped maybe in his vehemence advance, Kuja wouldn't be able to dodge. It was a long shot, unfortunately, as he stepped out of the way and shot his own firega spell forward.
The blast would have burned them all alive, cooking them, if they hadn't leapt out of the way. Blank's eyes burned as he watched the fire fly past, slamming into a wall. It was like a small explosion – this man's power was coming from raw wrath.
"How dare you?" He boomed from below.
"We need to get out there!" Blank pressed.
Marcus heaved a sigh, as though unconcerned with their situation. In truth, though he'd never admit it, he was terrified. "Let's get this show on the road ladies!"
And then he jumped from the airship without another word, knowing the others would soon follow.
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A/N: Well! I know you guys have waited a long time for this! It wouldn't surprise me if I didn't have anyone left :P but for those who are new, or perhaps still reading :) I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
I'm suddenly super into writing this again! Yay! Please review and lemme know how I'm doing!
-zesty-
