Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ The Concept of... ❯ Melody Long Forgotten ( Chapter 1 )

Title: The Concept of...

 

Summary: Gaia, finally finding peace after a long while, is once again rocked as a group of radicals rise up and begin to eradicate the royals from the world. In the heat of the fray, can light shine once more?

 

Rating: PG-13+

 

Fandom: Final Fantasy IX

 

Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, Continuation

 

 

Chapter One

Melody Long Forgotten

 

Two months after Night of Eternal Flames...

 

The moon shone brightly over the city of Alexandria. The stars sparkled in the sky like they did every night, but the air within the city gates had never been the same, not for two months.

 

For the last two months, the entire Kingdom of Alexandria had been under the marshall law of a political body known as The Forgotten Fire. They had sustained rule over the land after a nightly attack on the city which ended with the ousting of the current regime and the queen of Alexandria going missing.

 

The fall of Alexandria was not the first to come however as while Lindblum was sending reinforcments for their ally, they were also attacked from within the walls of the city. The ruler of Lindblum, Regent Cid, was taken captive. His current status is still unknown.

 

It didn't take but another two weeks for Burmencia and the other area of the Mist Continent to fall to the new menace.

 

Day and night, the streets of Alexandria were patrolled by the strange guards of The Fire. The guards rarely spoke and wore all black, including a black hood that hid their facial features. The only member of The Fire that's face had ever been seen was their leader, a man named Magus Kingsfield II.

 

This man had first appeared three days after Alexandria had been occupied. He'd stood in front of the Castle of Alexandria with a bright grin on his face. He proclaimed to the residents of the city that the royal body of Alexandria had been dethroned and that The Forgotten Fire had calimed the kingdom was their own.

 

The Mist Continent had fallen to The Fire in only one month. All former leaders were captured, save for one who had been claimed to be dead. It seemed to be a dark time for Gaia.

 

------------

 

In the darkness of one of the many alleyways of Alexandria, a light scuffle could be heard followed by the scream of a individual.

 

"Shut the hell up." Barked one black clad male. The man stepped forward and kicked the young man on the ground in the gut. The boy cried out and rolled over, clutching his abdomen.

 

Another black-clad soldier laughed, "This'll teach ya to speak ill of The Fire."

 

The third soldier withdrew a long blade from his sheath, "I'm tired of this. Let's skin'em alive and leave the leftovers as a example."

 

The three men laughed as the young boy tried to climb to his feet. One of the men slapped him upside the head and the boy feel to the ground, breathing heavily as blood poured from a cut on his forehead.

 

"That's right, cry, ya little weasle." One of the men laughed, "I swear, everyone in this little city is nothing but a little sissy. I thought Alexandria was supposed to be tougher than this."

 

"It's pathetic, really." Stated the second, "I thought conquering the continent would be harder but the kingdoms are a lot weaker than I thought, eh? Especially Alexandria."

 

The third man twirled his blade around once and laughed, "Enough talk. Let's get this over with and go get something to eat."

 

The man walked towards the groveling boy, tapping his blade lightly on his shoulder. He stepped within a few inches of the boy and raised the sword of his head. He was about to bring the blade down over the boy's neck when a shout was heard.

 

All eyes turned around to the entrance to the alleyway. A silhouette could he seen standing in the entrance. He was shorter with bushy hair and something seemed to be protruding from his side.

 

"You call us cowards?" The stranger spoke coldly, "and yet your the ones ganging up on a young boy."

 

The man with his sword drawn stepped away from the boy and growled, "Another fool trying to badmouth The Fire, eh?"

 

"I guess we needs a beating too." Quipped another soldier.

 

"Perhaps." Stated the stranger as he withdrew something from his side. A long, silver dagger glistened in the moonlight. The male withdrew a second dagger and took a defensive stance, "Or perhaps it's time to teach you three a lesson."

 

Without warning, the stranger took off at a sprint towards the three. The first soldier, with his sword out, stepped forward to intercept the oncoming foe. Within inches of meeting his enemy, the stranger jumped into the air. He flew over the first soldier and dropkicked another one in the head.

 

As the man fell to the ground, the stranger used the momentum from his kick to send him flying for another enemy. He used his head to spear another male in the gut, sending him toppling backwards. The stranger then took to his feet and spun around to meet the first soldier.

 

The soldier swung his sword downwards but the stranger blocked the attack with both of his daggers. The man cursed and brought in another attack from the side. This time, the stranger simply side-stepped the attack and went in for his own. His dagger easily sliced through the neck of his opponent, sending blood seeping through his uniform and the man falling backwards.

 

The second soldier had gotten to his feet by now and drew his own sword. He ran for the stranger and attempted to jab his blade right into his stomach. The stranger saw the attack coming and did a backflip. He landed on his feet a few yards away and took off once more at a full sprint towards the soldier.

 

The soldier stepped back and brought his sword up to block any attack that were to come. He closed his eyes in fear and was surprised when nothing came. He opened his eyes timidly only to see nothing aheaad of him. The man blinked a few times as he looked around. Then, he felt something tap his shoulder.

 

The man whirled around only to get a glimpse at the man before he recieved a hard hit to the face from the dagger's hilt. This blow sent the man reeling and he fell to the ground, his head meeting concrete and causing him to lose conciousness.

 

The last soldier stood and shouted in anger. He rushed towards the soldier and swung his blade three times. The stranger dodged two of the attack but a last one knicked his cheek, causing blood to seep from the cut. The soldier was about to go for another attack when the stranger did a frontflip and landed behind the soldier. The man whirled around only to see the stranger run away from him. He smirked as he thought the stranger was fleeing.

 

However, he was deeply mistaken as he saw the stranger jump into the air. He placed both of his feet on the adjacant wall and used it as a springboard to send him flying straight for the last soldier. The soldier had no time to attempt to block the attack and he landed cleanly on the ground with a new wound seeping blood from his chest. He coughed a bit before his life was finally ended in a similar manner to the first soldier.

 

The young boy was able to push himself up just in time to see the final soldier lose his life. The boy blinked a few times and looked around but the only thing he saw was a man walking away, with a tail waving behind him.

 

----------

 

Light seeped in through the light drapes of the small cottage. The shades were blown by the light breeze as it blew through the windows, ruffling hair and sending loose papers flying.

 

The wind blew the sandy locks of the cottage's resident as he lay sound asleep in his cot. The male grumbled a bit in his sleep and rolled over to the side, trying to get a few more minutes of sleep.

 

A rap on the door caused the male to groan loudly and sit up from his bed. He frowned deeply as he stood and made his way over to the door. He turned the knob hard and opened it only to see a face he least wanted to see.

 

The large man on the other side seemed equally upset at who he saw. The male wore a pair of dark green pants and a dark blue shirt that barely fit his large build. He wore a pair of leather boots and a matching hat to fill out the rest of his attire.

 

The man cleared his throat and nodded to the man who answered the door.

 

The resident frowned and crossed his arms, sleep still in his eyes. "What do you want, Steiner?"

 

The man frowned even deeper, "Nice welcome."

 

"What can I say?" The man shrugged his shoulders and motioned for the large man to enter. The ex-soldier did so and entered the male's little home. "Something you wanted, Rusty?"

 

Adelbert Steiner turned around. After the fall of Alexandria, Steiner had tried desperatly to restore the old order. Every time, he'd escaped with barely his life. After a month, his long-time comrade and partner, Beatrix had gotten him to stop his direct assaults and take on a more 'undercover approach. Steiner and Beatrix were now the leaders of the rebel group known as The Restorers of the Lost Order, or The Restoration.

 

Steiner crossed his arms over his chest and looked the man in the eyes, "Been out doing your usual rounds, Zidane?" The male asked, pointed to the bandage on the shorter male's cheek.

 

Zidane patted the bandage and shrugged, "I cut myself."

 

The larger man sighed and took a few steps away. He turned away and looked around his old friend's little room and sighed.

 

"You know why I'm here, Zidane."

 

Zidane smirked and nodded, "And you know my answer."

 

Steiner sighed and whirlled around, "Look, I don't want you to join us either but this is what Beatrix wants! Listen, we gotta big mission coming up and she really wants your help."

 

The shorter male sighed, "Steiner-"

 

"You really think your helping?" Steiner asked angrily, "Doing your little solo, hero-without-a-cause act? You think that's helping the kingdom?"

 

Zidane frowned and turned away from the larger man. He crossed his arms and sighed.

 

Steiner stared at the boy for a long moment before he took a few steps over to Zidane's nighttable. He lifted something off it and gazed at the shining piece of metal.

 

"You know you can't go your whole life blaming yourself for what happened to her." Steiner said slowly before he laid the dagger back down onto the table.

 

With that, the large man turned around and made his way over to the door. He opened it on his own and was about to step out when something stopped him.

 

Zidane frowned and looked out the window, "Then why do you?"

 

Steiner stood in the doorway for a moment before speaking once more. "I'll be waiting for your answer. If you want to do something worthwhile for a change, meet me at the airship landing by nightfall."

 

With that, Steiner made his leave. Zidane turned around after the man left and made his way over to his bed. He sat down and looked at the dagger that sat on his tabletop. He also looked at the gleaming red gem that sat next to it and tears began to form in his eyes.

 

"Why did I let you go?" He asked himself as he put his head in his hands, tears falling to the floor. "Why did I let you leave me?"

 

----------------

 

The light tunes from a nearby jukebox filled the air of the small village. Light footsteps could be heard running across the grassy ground of the village.

 

A short-haired, blonde girl walked gently across the small, paved road. Her hands behind her back, she looked up at the sky as she made her way through her temporary home.

 

A few black mages ran by, offering their hellos to the girl as they went but she was too dazed out to hear. She continued down the road, completely lost in her imagination as she went.

 

Finally, she broke out of her dream as she made her way up to the inn where she was staying. She entered and nodded gently to the mage that sat behind the counter.

 

"Your friends are inside, Miss Sarah." The mage said with a friendly voice.

 

"Thank you." Sarah said with a chuckle as she made her way over to the door. She was about to push it open when she heard the people within discussing something.

 

The people within were speaking in hushed voices, obviously trying not to allow anyone else to hear their conversation. They spooke just loud enough for her to make out their voices.

 

A harsh voice spoke first, "We cannot run forever. It's been two months, it won't be much longer before they come over here."

 

"It's obvious that this continent will be The Fire's next destination." Spoke another voice, this one was that of a female. "Where can we run to after that?"

 

"The Fire beleives knows the Queen still lives." Spoke the first voice, "They've got the public beleiving that she is dead but they are still searching for her, silently but they are."

 

"You and the Queen may stay here as long as you desire." This new voice was deeper and more friendly, "Our village will not be discovered easily."

 

"Thank you." Spoke the female, "But we will not bring that danger to you. We will take the Queen elsewhere."

 

A crash was heard and the harsh male spoke once more, "I'm sick of running. I don't see why I'm this brat's babysitter anyways. I should be over their fighting those bastards and putting this whole thing to an end now."

 

"Cole, your mission is just as important as everyone else's." The female spoke, "No one is fighting just yet. In time, you will be given your chance but like everyone else, you must wait."

 

Sarah sighed deeply and made her entrance. The three inhabitants of the room turned their attention towards the blonde girl and immediatly ended their conversation. The black mage in the room nodded to the girl before making her leave.

 

The other blonde girl smiled at Sarah. She stood about her height with darker blonde locks and blue-green eyes. A long tail protruded from her back as well.

 

"Did you have a nice walk?" Asked the girl.

 

Sarah smiled and crossed her arms, "It was very refreshing. How are you, Mikoto?"

 

The girl nodded, "Doing well."

 

Mikoto had changed dramatically since coming back from Terra with Zidane. It'd taken her awhile to get used to things of Gaia but once she did, no one could tell she was from another planet.

 

The last person in the room took his seat in the corner of the room and took a long swig of water. He wore a pair of black pants and a long black jacket with red lining all over a plain white shirt. A long necklace hung from his neck and a long sword was strapped to his belt. He had long, black hair with one long red streak on the right side, hanging over his eye. The male grunted as he crossed his arms.

 

"When do we leave the village, Cole?" Asked Sarah.

 

"About a week, probably." Answered the male in his usual deep tone. "The word from the top says we gotta keep heading north."

 

Sarah sighed and sat down on her bed, "And when are you going to tell me who 'the top' is?"

 

Mikoto smiled akwardly, "Not just yet."

 

Sarah sighed in annoyance and laid back on the bed. "This has been going on for two months and I still don't know what is going on. Ever since that day on the ship from Alexandria, all I've heard is 'we can't tell you yet' and 'that's confidential.'" She frowned and crossed her arms, "I've tried to keep quiet for as long as possible but-"

 

"Dagger, please." Mikoto said, using the name given to the girl a long time ago. "I want to tell you, really I do, but I just can't. For your safety and our's, we just can't tell you who is sending us. All you can know is that it's an organization designed for the benefit of The Mist Continent."

 

Sarah sat up angrily, "And why does all of the world think I'm dead?! I can't imagine how Zi..." She caught herself, tears welling up inside her eyes, "How is everyone doing? Thinking I'm dead?"

 

Mikoto sighed and sat down on her bed. She shook her head, "It's hard to tell. I'm worried about him too."

 

"Then why don't we go see him?" Sarag asked, "How are you even a part of this organization?"

 

"It's a long story." Mikoto said with a light grin, "One I'll tell you later."

 

Sarah sighed once more and fell back onto her bed. She rubbed her temples as a headache was growing. "Of course."

 

Cole rose from his place in the corner and made his way to the door. "I'm going out for a drink." Stated the dark man before leaving the two girls to be alone.

 

Mikoto frowned, "Don't let him get to you. This whole ordeal is tough on us all."

 

Two months ago, Queen Garnet til Alexandros had been sent away from her home on a ship to escape the attack of The Fire. The ship had been intercepted shortly by another ship, this one being inhabited by a group of mysterious people. The only face Garnet recognized was Mikoto. She'd told her that they were going to be taking care of her until things got safer. They forced her to cut her hair again and dye it blonde so she could lay undercover better, she also was going by the name Sarah.

 

Mikoto had told her that she could not return to her homeland until everything was safer. She also said that no one else could know of her situation. For two months, she'd been traveling with Mikoto and the cold, mysterious Cole all across the globe. It seemed as though they never stopped moving.

 

So, that was how things had been for the last two months. Queen Garnet was 'dead' and she was now living as Sarah, traveling the world for seemingly no reason with no idea how her kingdom or her friends were doing.

 

And every, single day she thought of him.

 

---------------

 

Night overcame the village of Dali quickly. The stars overlooked the village and slowly fizzled out over the horizon. In the light of a few torches sat a few individuals. They sat in a tight bunch in the airship landing area, speaking in hushed tones.

 

In the center of the group sat a women. She wore lightly colored clothes with a black eyepatch over her left eye. She crossed her arms and looked at the large man to her right.

 

The large man spoke up, "In a few days, Magus Kingsfield will be giving a speech at the Alexandrian Harbor. We will be making our way to the speech in three groups. One will make it's way through the crowd and wait near the front. The second will be waiting off to the side and when the mission begins, will rush the port and block off as many ships as possible. The third group will be the smallest and most dangerous. This group will scale the wall on the outside of the castle. They will make their way across the top and jump down to commence the attack direclty on Kingfield and his lackys."

 

The girl cleared her throat, "When the third group begins it's onslaught, the second will rush in to block off any escapes. That is when the first group bursts from the crowd to square off the attack. If all goes well, Kingsfield should be lying dead in his own blood and we should be making our escape via one of the harbor's ships."

 

The large man nodded, "The only thing left to decide is who is in what group?"

 

"As much as I'm sure he would like to." The female smiled and looked over at the bigger man, "I'm afraid Steiner is a bit too... large to lead the third group."

 

Steiner frowned and nodded, "I will be leading the first group in the direct assault from the crowd. Beatrix will take lead of the second group as this group needs as much speed and perfection as possible."

 

Beatrix nodded, "That leaves the third. Any volunteers?"

 

The crowd was quiet for a long moment before someone spoke up from the back. Everyone shifted their gaze to the back of the crowd and all eyes grew wide at who they saw.

 

The male at the back crossed his arms and looked forward into the unbeleiving stares of the others, "I said, I'll do it."

 

As the man stepped forward, Beatrix stood and smiled a bit at him. "Good to see you here, Zidane."

 

Zidane nodded as he stood before the two, "One mission. That's the length of my contract."

 

"That's all we need." Beatrix said with a smile.

 

Steiner rose and nodded, "You think your leading the third?"

 

"I know I am." Zidane said as he shifted his gaze to Steiner, "Who else is going to, eh, Rusty?"

 

Beatrix nodded, "You will lead the third."

 

Steiner stared at Zidane for a long moment before shrugging and sitting back down, "Don't screw it up."

 

Zidane nodded confidently and looked once more at Beatrix. He crossed his arms over his chest and cleared his throat.

 

"So, when do we leave?"

 

To Be Continued...

 

Author's Ramblings

 

I have mixed feelings about this installment. It's been forever since I've played FFIX and don't even own the game but I'm trying to keep the characters as much IC as possible. Don't worry, more characters will be jumping into the mix shorlty. I hope this chapter doesnt drive too many people away.

 

Keep with the comments. They keep me going.

 

Until next time.