FF9:CN Chapter 5

Li'l Note from Angel:
I get the feeling some of you'll eventually go off this sequel 'cause of the story direction and my writing skills seemingly going down the pan o.o So if that happens, don't say I didn't warn ya


Chapter 5: Next Destination

Garnet lay on her bed, exhausted, but unable to sleep. She glanced out of the window at the starry sky, then back at the ceiling. Ever since she boarded the airship, she hadn't known what to make of the current situation. So many thoughts were spinning through her head that they couldn't settle into place. She kept thinking back to the cold look in Zidane's eyes when she confronted him, how his irises looked as if they were glazed with ice despite flickering with the heat of the flames nearby. It was clear he'd felt nothing for what had happened.
   But when she said she would attack him with Bahamut, his calm, emotionless gaze seemed to falter. Was it that he'd so easily destroy a city full of people, but never want to hurt her? It didn't make any sense to her, but she needed to find out what was going on. So many things she'd never thought about while she was there. It all seemed so strange. Getting up from her bed, she paced aimlessly around her room, then stopped at the window, staring out over Alexandria. 'What...or who, could have caused all this?' she wondered, then she gasped as she realised.
   “Mikoto went missing soon after Zidane had disappeared!” She said to herself. “She always knows more than she lets on, so if I find her, I'll make her tell me what happened.” She covered her mouth as she yawned. “But I really need some sleep first,” she sighed. Despite how worried she was, she finally felt tired enough to get some rest.

Morning felt as if it had arrived merely seconds after Garnet fell asleep. She groaned, rubbed her eyes, and was about to fall back to sleep again when her brain snapped into gear and she remembered her thoughts from last night. In a sudden rush of energy, she leaped out of bed and got changed, then ran through the castle to find Beatrix and Steiner. Finally, she saw them standing by the waters, warily keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.
   “Beatrix, Steiner, I wish to ask a favour of you,” Garnet said once she was close enough. They both turned around and saluted.
   “What is it, Your Majesty?” Beatrix asked.
   “I wish for the both of you to overlook Alexandria while I am away,” she replied. She continued before they could protest. “I have a feeling that Mikoto will know what's happened to Zidane, so I want to find her and ask her personally. I think it would be best if I went alone, since I can travel on Choco.” Beatrix and Steiner looked at each other hesitantly, than the general bowed.
   “...As you wish, my Queen,” Beatrix said. She looked upwards at Steiner, who seemed reluctant to accept her decision. Finally, he too bowed.
   “If it is that important, Your Majesty,” he said, defeated. “But please, be cautious. I know you have your Eidolons, but danger may appear from anywhere.”
   “Thank you,” Garnet said, smiling. “I promise I'll be careful, and I'll be back as soon as possible. If anything happens, follow your best judgement and send a moogle to find me immediately.” With that, she set off to prepare herself and call for Choco.

Within the hour, Garnet made sure she had all the elixers, hi-potions and ethers she could carry and placed them in a shoulder bag and found chocobo tracks to call Choco from. The golden bird came soaring towards her and she patted him on the head, than jumped onto his back and they took off into the sky. 'I'll check Black Mage Village first, she thought. 'Since it's the only place she really knows on Gaia.'

Kain sat quietly a little way outside of Lindblum, looking up at all the damage caused. His brothers were running around playing tag and generally enjoying themselves, but a feeling in the back of his head kept distracting him from fun. 33 ran up to him.
   “Come on, we need an extra player, and the people here won't play with us,” he said irritably.
   “Maybe because they've had their homes destroyed,” Kain replied sadly. “I'd be sad, too.”
   “Come on, lighten up a bit,” he said, tapping his foot. “If you think too much, your head'll explode!”
   “No it won't.” Kain stood up. “But I suppose I should stop thinking about it for now. I got told that Vivi used to think a lot and he got confused.” As the two mages headed towards the others, he saw a mother crying over the loss of her child. The same sight could be seen for fathers, brothers and sisters. Who could have caused this?
   “I heard it was Zidane,” 163 said matter-of-factly. “After all, he went missing merely a fortnight before.” Kain stomped his foot.
   “That's impossible!” He said. “Zidane cares about everyone too much to even think about it!”
   “Yeah!” 33 agreed. “He'd never do anything to hurt anyone!”
   “I'm as shocked as you are, but that's what I heard from one of the other genomes,” he responded. The accepting tone in his voice irritated the other two mages.
   “Where are those genomes, anyway?” 33 wondered. He looked around and saw them clustered together. They seemed like they were victorious in something.

“I'm sorry, Bobby Corwen. There's not much to do here, is there?” Mikoto said lazily as she lay on the ground while the chocobo sat next to her, relaxing. He would occasionally nudge her arm with his beak in boredom, but there was nothing to keep him occupied. “Too bad Mene ran out of items for you to dig up. It will be at least a week before we can go there again.” She sat up suddenly when she heard footsteps. Garnet was heading towards her with Choco following. The genome stood up, knowing what the queen wanted to discuss.
   “You know what happened to him, don't you?” she said bluntly.
   “I'm sorry, but I don't,” she replied. Garnet glared at her.
   “Don't lie to me, I know you're responsible for all of this!” Mikoto met her stare with a coldness in her eyes.
   “I have never lied to you before,” she said slowly, emphasising each word. “True, there have been things I haven't fully explained or said cryptically, but I have always spoken the truth.”
   “In that case,” Garnet said, eyeing her suspiciously. “Tell me what you do know.”
   “Before Zidane's return to Alexandria, I journeyed to the abandoned settlement, Oeilvert,” she explained. “There, I was told that Zidane would come to me, asking for assistance, and I must aid him in his goal. After Zidane went missing, I realised that the time had come that he would need me, so I came to the Black Mage Village to listen to his request. He asked to go to Oeilvert.”
   “Why?” Garnet asked, the tone in her voice softer.
   “He said that something was calling him there. When he asked me what it was, I couldn't reply. All I could do was let him ride Bobby Corwen in order to get there.” Garnet thought of what to say next. She sounded honest enough.
   “In that case,” she said finally, “please take me to Oeilvert.” Mikoto looked at her, puzzled. “You can do that, right?”
   “Yes, of course I can,” she replied. “But be warned that no magic can be used within the settlement, so that reduces both of our strength significantly.”
   “Both of us?” Garnet said suddenly. The she realised. “Of course, because you're...”
   “The third angel,” she said slyly, raising her hand, a ball of white energy forming in it and pulsing slightly. It disappeared as she lowered her arm and she jumped on Bobby Corwen's back. “Come on, you can ride on the other chocobo.” Garnet nodded and leapt up onto Choco's back, then the two headed off for the Outer Continent.

   “So, did you find anything, Sir Fratley?” Freya asked at the Burmecian as he made his way towards her. They had been patrolling around the area daily ever since the received news about the crystals.
   “Nothing yet,” he replied. “Would they even be able to grow in such conditions?” he added, looking up at the grey skies as the rain continuously fell to the ground.
   “I'm not sure, but...” She heard a crashing sound followed by yelling. Tightening her grip on her spear, she rushed towards the entrance of the town, followed shortly by Fratley. They stopped immediately once they saw one of the Burmecian soldiers fly backwards towards them. Freya knelt down beside him. “What happened?”
   “It's an attack!” The soldier answered, shuffling backwards before getting to his feet and looking around for his spear. Other Burmecian soldiers had arrived, ready to fight off whoever threatened their town. Freya expected to see an army of some sort, but lowered her spear when the lone attacker came into sight, walking calmly towards them.
   “Zidane?” she wondered quietly. She clutched her spear again. “Something's not right.” Zidane looked around the area as he came to a stop, then looked at the two Burmecians.
   “Hello there, Freya,” he said coolly. Soldiers surrounded him from all sides cautiously.
   “What's going on, Zidane?” Freya demanded. The genome tilted his head slightly.
   “I have no idea what you mean,” he said. “I'm just being myself.” Wings shot out of his back once more and he flew up into the sky, energy rippling around him before releasing itself into multiple blasts that struck down on the town. The Burmecians were more at an advantage with their jumping capabilities, but his agility and reflexes were enough to stop any major damage on him.
   Freya and Fratley leapt into the air, landing the occasional blow that he seemed to shrug off with unnerving ease. Injured soldiers lay on the ground, being healed by those with potions, but the attacks were wearing them all down. The attacks varied between blasts that formed in his hands and attacks that surrounded his entire body before releasing itself. Freya prepared to launch another attack, but her eyes widened to see him stop suddenly, looking down at her. Seconds later, he flew away, leaving Burmecia ruined, though not to the extent that Lindblum had suffered. Immediately Freya was using all of her potions to help heal her comrades. She didn't have time to follow Zidane at the moment, but judging by the direction he was headed in, Treno was where he'd be next.